Google XML Sitemaps Generator < 3.2.9 - Authenticated (Admin+) PHP Code Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.2.9
- Affected Plugin
- Google XML Sitemaps Generator
- Affected Version
<= 3.2.8- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a high-severity Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in the Google XML Sitemaps Generator WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.2.8. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Admin level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.2.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2013, reported by Akastep.
Vulnerability Overview
The Google XML Sitemaps Generator plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Code Injection in versions before 3.2.9 via the 'sm_cf_home' and 'sm_cf_posts' parameters. This allows authenticated attackers with admin-level privileges to inject code onto the server.
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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Google XML Sitemaps Generator <= 3.2.8 carries this weakness at sm_cf_home, and reaching it takes an account at Admin level or above. Code injection means input from a request reaches a language construct that evaluates code, so the attacker's text is executed rather than treated as data.
The injected code runs with the web server's privileges, giving the attacker the same access to the database and filesystem as WordPress itself. For Google XML Sitemaps Generator the fix is 3.2.9: builds <= 3.2.8 are affected, anything from 3.2.9 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.2.9, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Admin 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. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Google XML Sitemaps Generator 3.2.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
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