CVE-2015-9454

Smooth Slider < 2.7 - Authenticated SQL Injection

2015-07-15 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.7
Affected Plugin: Smooth Slider
Affected Version: <= 2.6.5
CVSS: 8.8High
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2015-9454

At a glance

CVE-2015-9454 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Smooth Slider WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.6.5. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 2.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2015, reported by Marcin Probola.

Vulnerability Overview

The Smooth Slider plugin before 2.7 for WordPress has SQL Injection via the wp-admin/admin.php?page=smooth-slider-admin current_slider_id 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 Smooth Slider <= 2.6.5 takes any authenticated account. 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 Smooth Slider the fix is 2.7: builds <= 2.6.5 are affected, anything from 2.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.7, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Smooth Slider: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Smooth Slider 2.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-9454 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3566d9fa-faeb-4302-96e2-464a68eff66d https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-9454

Related records

Same weakness class

8.8CVE-2018-5373: Smooth Slider < 2.8.7 SQL InjectionCVE-2018-5373

CVSS Vector

8.8

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

Base

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

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