CVE-2015-9457

Pretty Links – Link Management, Branding, Tracking & Sharing Plugin <= 1.6.7 - SQL Injection

2015-07-08 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.6.8
Affected Plugin: PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links
Affected Version: < 1.6.8
CVSS: 7.2High
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2015-9457

View all PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2015-9457 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the PrettyLinks WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.6.8. 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 1.6.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2015, reported by Marcin Probola.

Vulnerability Overview

The pretty-link plugin before 1.6.8 for WordPress has PrliLinksController::list_links SQL injection via the group parameter.

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 PrettyLinks < 1.6.8 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 PrettyLinks the fix is 1.6.8: builds < 1.6.8 are affected, anything from 1.6.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.6.8, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to PrettyLinks: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: PrettyLinks 1.6.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-9457 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d906992f-8675-4170-8643-48799ae7ac7c https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-9457

Related records

Same weakness class

4.9CVE-2026-5062: PrettyLinks <= 3.6.20 SQL InjectionCVE-2026-5062

Other vulnerabilities in PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links

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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