CVE-2022-0349

NotificationX <= 2.3.8 - Blind SQL Injection

2022-02-02 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.3.9
Affected Plugin: NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar
Affected Version: <= 2.3.8
CVSS: 9.8Critical
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2022-0349

View all NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-0349 is a critical-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the NotificationX WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.3.8. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.3.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2022, reported by Krzysztof Zając.

Vulnerability Overview

The NotificationX WordPress plugin before 2.3.9 does not sanitise and escape the nx_id parameter before using it in a SQL statement, leading to an Unauthenticated Blind SQL Injection.

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 privileges on the target site, 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 NotificationX <= 2.3.8 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 NotificationX the fix is 2.3.9: builds <= 2.3.8 are affected, anything from 2.3.9 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.3.9, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to NotificationX: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: NotificationX 2.3.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-0349 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ec2eec5a-7767-4215-b77d-5cfd2d148f73 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-0349

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar

CVSS Vector

9.8

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

Base

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

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