CVE-2022-0846

SpeakOut! Email Petitions < 2.14.15.1 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection

2022-03-07 00:00
cydave

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.14.15.1
Affected Version
< 2.14.15.1
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2022-0846
View all SpeakOut! Email Petitions vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-0846 is a critical-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the SpeakOut! Email Petitions WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.14.15.1. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.14.15.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2022, reported by cydave.

Vulnerability Overview

The SpeakOut! Email Petitions WordPress plugin before 2.14.15.1 does not sanitise and escape the id parameter before using it in a SQL statement via the dk_speakout_sendmail AJAX action, leading to an SQL Injection exploitable by unauthenticated users.

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, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

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

Reaching this weakness in SpeakOut! Email Petitions < 2.14.15.1 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 SpeakOut! Email Petitions the fix is 2.14.15.1: builds < 2.14.15.1 are affected, anything from 2.14.15.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.14.15.1, 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: SpeakOut! Email Petitions 2.14.15.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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