Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- inlinks
- Affected Version
<= 1.1- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2017-16955
At a glance
CVE-2017-16955 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the inlinks WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.1. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed November 2017, reported by Dimopoulos Elias.
Vulnerability Overview
SQL injection vulnerability in the InLinks plugin through 1.1 for WordPress allows authenticated users to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the "keyword" parameter to /wp-admin/options-general.php?page=inlinks/inlinks.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')
inlinks <= 1.1 carries this weakness at keyword, and reaching it takes any authenticated account. 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 inlinks yet, so installs running <= 1.1 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 inlinks: 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
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C