CVE-2022-4158

Contest Gallery <= 19.1.4.1 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection via cg_Fields

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
8.1High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2022-4158
View all Contest Gallery Pro vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-4158 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 8.1 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. 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 cg_Fields parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers 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 privileges on the target site, 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 no account at all. 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?

Requests carrying this pattern arrive without a session, so nothing upstream of the firewall gets a chance to reject them: 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
  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-4158https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/10e05707-02cb-42de-8399-4556d76b01b3https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4158

Related records

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