Side Menu – add fixed side buttons <= 3.1.3 - SQL Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.1.5
- Affected Plugin
- Side Menu – add fixed side buttons
- Affected Version
<= 3.1.3- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2021-24348
At a glance
CVE-2021-24348 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Side Menu WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.1.3. 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 3.1.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2021, reported by Shreya Pohekar.
Vulnerability Overview
The menu delete functionality of the Side Menu – add fixed side buttons WordPress plugin before 3.1.5, available to Administrator users takes the did GET parameter and uses it into an SQL statement without proper sanitisation, validation or escaping, therefore leading to a SQL Injection issue
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 Side Menu <= 3.1.3 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 Side Menu the fix is 3.1.5: builds <= 3.1.3 are affected, anything from 3.1.5 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.1.5, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Side Menu: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Side Menu 3.1.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
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