Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- GD Star Rating
- Affected Version
<= 1.9.22- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2014-2839
At a glance
CVE-2014-2839 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the GD Star Rating WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.9.22. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed March 2014, reported by Tom Adams.
Vulnerability Overview
SQL injection vulnerability in the GD Star Rating plugin 1.9.22 for WordPress allows remote administrators to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the s parameter in the gd-star-rating-stats page to wp-admin/admin.php.
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 GD Star Rating <= 1.9.22 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. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for GD Star Rating yet, so installs running <= 1.9.22 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to GD Star Rating: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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