Apocalypse Meow <= 22.1.0 - Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection via 'type' Parameter
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 23.0.0
- Affected Plugin
- Apocalypse Meow
- Affected Version
<= 22.1.0- CVSS
- 4.9Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2026-3523
At a glance
CVE-2026-3523 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Apocalypse Meow WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 22.1.0. It carries a CVSS score of 4.9 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 23.0.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2026, reported by Louis Deschanel (JeanJeanLeHaxor).
Vulnerability Overview
The Apocalypse Meow plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the 'type' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 22.1.0. This is due to a flawed logical operator in the type validation check on line 261 of ajax.php — the condition uses `&&` (AND) instead of `||` (OR), causing the `in_array()` validation to be short-circuited and never evaluated for any non-empty type value. Combined with `stripslashes_deep()` being called on line 101 which removes `wp_magic_quotes()` protection, attacker-controlled single quotes pass through unescaped into the SQL query on line 298. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database.
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.
CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Apocalypse Meow <= 22.1.0 carries this weakness at type, and reaching it 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. For Apocalypse Meow the fix is 23.0.0: builds <= 22.1.0 are affected, anything from 23.0.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 23.0.0, or a newer patched version
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. None of that substitutes for the fix: Apocalypse Meow 23.0.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Apocalypse Meow
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