CVE-2022-4155

Contest Gallery <= 19.1.4.1 - Authenticated (Author+) SQL Injection via wp_user_id

2022-12-05 00:00
Kunal Sharma

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 19.1.5
Affected Plugin
Contest Gallery Pro
Affected Version
<= 19.1.4.1
CVSS
7.5High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2022-4155
View all Contest Gallery Pro vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-4155 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Contest Gallery Pro WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 19.1.4.1. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 19.1.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2022, reported by Kunal Sharma.

Vulnerability Overview

The Contest Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection in versions up to, and including, 19.1.4.1 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied wp_user_id parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with author-level privileges or higher 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, 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 Contest Gallery Pro <= 19.1.4.1 takes an account at Author 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 Contest Gallery Pro the fix is 19.1.5: builds <= 19.1.4.1 are affected, anything from 19.1.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 19.1.5, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Author 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: Contest Gallery Pro 19.1.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-4155https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/250788a8-55d1-416b-bf1c-2170e8483ccchttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4155

Related records

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