CVE-2021-24465

Meow Gallery (+ Gallery Block) <= 4.1.8 - SQL Injection

2021-09-02 00:00
apple502j

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 4.1.9
Affected Plugin
Meow Gallery
Affected Version
< 4.1.9
CVSS
8.1High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2021-24465
View all Meow Gallery vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24465 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Meow Gallery WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 4.1.9. It carries a CVSS score of 8.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity impact). The issue is fixed in version 4.1.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2021, reported by apple502j.

Vulnerability Overview

The Meow Gallery WordPress plugin before 4.1.9 does not sanitise, validate or escape the ids attribute of its gallery shortcode (available for users as low as Contributor) before using it in an SQL statement, leading to an authenticated SQL Injection issue. The injection also allows the returned values to be manipulated in a way that could lead to data disclosure and arbitrary objects to be deserialized.

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.

CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

Reaching this weakness in Meow Gallery < 4.1.9 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 Meow Gallery the fix is 4.1.9: builds < 4.1.9 are affected, anything from 4.1.9 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.1.9, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Meow Gallery: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Meow Gallery 4.1.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24465https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/07bb17bd-c534-4b11-a1dd-7d2f2786ffechttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24465

Related records

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