CVE-2015-9496

Freshmail for WordPress <= 1.5.8 - SQL Injection

2015-05-06 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.6
Affected Plugin: Freshmail for WordPress
Affected Version: < 1.6
CVSS: 8.8High
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2015-9496

View all Freshmail for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2015-9496 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Freshmail for WordPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.6. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 1.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2015, reported by Felipe Molina de la Torre.

Vulnerability Overview

The freshmail-newsletter plugin before 1.6 for WordPress has shortcode.php SQL Injection via the 'FM_form id=' substring.

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 Freshmail for WordPress < 1.6 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 Freshmail for WordPress the fix is 1.6: builds < 1.6 are affected, anything from 1.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.6, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Freshmail for WordPress: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Freshmail for WordPress 1.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-9496 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/db4dbbbe-1edb-47a6-8d11-8a019e05dfae https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-9496

Related records

Same weakness class

9.8Freshmail <= 1.5.8 Multiple SQL Injections

CVSS Vector

8.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

This record contains material that is subject to copyright

CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse

Defiant hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute this software vulnerability information. Any copy of the software vulnerability information you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you include a hyperlink to this vulnerability record and reproduce Defiant's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.wordfence.com/wordfence-intelligence-terms-and-conditions/