CVE-2021-24651

Poll Maker < 3.4.2 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection

2021-09-13 00:00
apple502j

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.4.2
Affected Plugin
Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls
Affected Version
< 3.4.2
CVSS
7.5High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2021-24651
View all Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24651 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Poll Maker by AYS WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 3.4.2. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.4.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2021, reported by apple502j.

Vulnerability Overview

The Poll Maker WordPress plugin before 3.4.2 allows unauthenticated users to perform SQL injection via the ays_finish_poll AJAX action. While the result is not disclosed in the response, it is possible to use a timing attack to exfiltrate data such as password hash.

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.

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

Reaching this weakness in Poll Maker by AYS < 3.4.2 takes no account at all. 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 Poll Maker by AYS the fix is 3.4.2: builds < 3.4.2 are affected, anything from 3.4.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.4.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Requests carrying this pattern arrive without a session, so nothing upstream of the firewall gets a chance to reject them: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Poll Maker by AYS 3.4.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24651https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e271effa-2c40-4635-ad6b-ca82b4742567https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24651

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C