WP Advanced Search <= 1.1.6 - Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- Advanced Search
- Affected Version
<= 1.1.6- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2024-3265
At a glance
CVE-2024-3265 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Advanced Search WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.1.6. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed April 2024, reported by Vincent Fourcade (vinceMatsui).
Vulnerability Overview
The Advanced Search plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the data parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.6 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator access or higher, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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 Advanced Search <= 1.1.6 takes an account at Administrator level or above. 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. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for Advanced Search yet, so installs running <= 1.1.6 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Administrator access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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