CVE-2021-24844

Affiliate Manager <= 2.8.6 - Admin+ SQL injection

2021-10-11 00:00
ZhongFu Su

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.8.7
Affected Plugin
Affiliates Manager
Affected Version
<= 2.8.6
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2021-24844
View all Affiliates Manager vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24844 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Affiliates Manager WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.8.6. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 2.8.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2021, reported by ZhongFu Su.

Vulnerability Overview

The Affiliates Manager WordPress plugin before 2.8.7 does not validate the orderby parameter before using it in an SQL statement in the admin dashboard, leading to an SQL Injection issue

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 Affiliates Manager <= 2.8.6 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 Affiliates Manager the fix is 2.8.7: builds <= 2.8.6 are affected, anything from 2.8.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.8.7, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Affiliates Manager: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Affiliates Manager 2.8.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24844https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/98adce63-69e6-4a3b-97fe-ecd0480659f4https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24844

Related records

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