CVE-2007-3140

WordPress Core <= 2.2 - SQL Injection

2007-06-21 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.2.1
Affected Core: WordPress 2.2
Affected Version: <= 2.2
CVSS: 8.8High
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2007-3140

At a glance

CVE-2007-3140 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the WordPress 2.2 WordPress release line, affecting <= 2.2. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 2.2.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2007.

Vulnerability Overview

SQL injection vulnerability in xmlrpc.php in WordPress 2.2 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary SQL commands via a parameter value in an XML RPC wp.suggestCategories methodCall, a different vector than CVE-2007-1897.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 2.2 <= 2.2 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. SQL injection happens when request data is concatenated into a query instead of being bound as a parameter, letting an attacker change the structure of the statement rather than just its values.

A working injection can read any table the database user can see, which on a WordPress install means user records, password hashes and session or API secrets stored in options. For WordPress 2.2 the fix is 2.2.1: builds <= 2.2 are affected, anything from 2.2.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.2.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 2.2: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 2.2.1 is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2007-3140 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/bd715375-6bf8-4602-9554-b1f81aa5afa2 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2007-3140

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 2.2

CVSS Vector

8.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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