CVE-2007-0107

WordPress Core <= 2.0.5 - SQL Injection

2007-01-05 00:00
Stefan Esser

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.0.6
Affected Core
WordPress 2.0
Affected Version
<= 2.0.5
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2007-0107
View all WordPress 2.0 vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2007-0107 is a critical-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the WordPress 2.0 WordPress release line, affecting <= 2.0.5. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.0.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2007, reported by Stefan Esser.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress before 2.0.6, when mbstring is enabled for PHP, decodes alternate character sets after escaping the SQL query, which allows remote attackers to bypass SQL injection protection schemes and execute arbitrary SQL commands via multibyte charsets, as demonstrated using UTF-7.

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 privileges on the target site, 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 2.0 <= 2.0.5 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 2.0 the fix is 2.0.6: builds <= 2.0.5 are affected, anything from 2.0.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.0.6, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 2.0: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 2.0.6 is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2007-0107https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/f4393526-6357-40ee-a024-f461d0430a62https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2007-0107

Related records

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