Simple Membership WP user Import <= 1.7 - Authenticated (Admin+) SQL Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.8
- Affected Plugin
- Simple Membership WP user Import
- Affected Version
<= 1.7- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2023-0254
At a glance
CVE-2023-0254 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Simple Membership WP user Import WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.7. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Admin level or above. The issue is fixed in version 1.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2023, reported by Etan Imanol Castro Aldrete.
Vulnerability Overview
The Simple Membership WP user Import plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the ‘orderby’ parameter in versions up to, and including, 1.7 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with administrative privileges to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database.
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')
Simple Membership WP user Import <= 1.7 carries this weakness at orderby, and reaching it takes an account at Admin level or above. 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 Simple Membership WP user Import the fix is 1.8: builds <= 1.7 are affected, anything from 1.8 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.8, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Admin access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Simple Membership WP user Import 1.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Simple Membership WP user Import
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