CVE-2021-24877

MainWP Child <= 4.1.7.1 - SQL Injection via orderby, order Parameters

2021-10-25 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 4.1.8
Affected Plugin: MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites
Affected Version: < 4.1.8
CVSS: 7.2High
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2021-24877

View all MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24877 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the MainWP Child WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 4.1.8. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 4.1.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2021, reported by ZhongFu Su.

Vulnerability Overview

The MainWP Child WordPress plugin before 4.1.8 does not validate the orderby and order parameter before using them in a SQL statement, leading to an SQL injection exploitable by high privilege users such as admin when the Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule plugin is installed

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 MainWP Child < 4.1.8 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 MainWP Child the fix is 4.1.8: builds < 4.1.8 are affected, anything from 4.1.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.1.8, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to MainWP Child: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: MainWP Child 4.1.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24877 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8a303875-ad8c-40ed-a3ab-4a63080c9845 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24877

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites

CVSS Vector

7.2

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

Base

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

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