CVE-2011-3130

WordPress Core <= 3.1.2 - SQL Injection

2011-05-25 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.1.3
Affected Core: WordPress 3.1
Affected Version: <= 3.1.2
CVSS: 8.8High
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2011-3130

At a glance

CVE-2011-3130 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the WordPress 3.1 WordPress release line, affecting <= 3.1.2. 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 3.1.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2011, reported by John Lamansky.

Vulnerability Overview

wp-includes/taxonomy.php in WordPress 3.1 before 3.1.3 and 3.2 before Beta 2 has unknown impact and attack vectors related to "Taxonomy query hardening," possibly involving SQL injection.

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 3.1 <= 3.1.2 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 3.1 the fix is 3.1.3: builds <= 3.1.2 are affected, anything from 3.1.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.1.3, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WordPress 3.1: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 3.1.3 is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-3130 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/86b2123f-9616-4dcc-904f-c7be802a8f8c https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-3130

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 3.1

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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