CVE-2021-24181

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution <= 1.7.6 - SQL Injection

2021-03-15 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.7.7
Affected Plugin: Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution
Affected Version: < 1.7.7
CVSS: 6.5Medium
Weakness type: CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE: CVE-2021-24181

View all Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24181 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Tutor LMS WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.7.7. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). The issue is fixed in version 1.7.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2021, reported by Chloe Chamberland.

Vulnerability Overview

The tutor_mark_answer_as_correct AJAX action from the Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution WordPress plugin before 1.7.7 was vulnerable to blind and time based SQL injections that could be exploited by students.

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.

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

Reaching this weakness in Tutor LMS < 1.7.7 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 Tutor LMS the fix is 1.7.7: builds < 1.7.7 are affected, anything from 1.7.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.7.7, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Tutor LMS: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Tutor LMS 1.7.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24181 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c1b81a26-c12c-4b57-9ef1-c53e0b87ad9a https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24181

Related records

Same weakness class

CVSS Vector

6.5

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone

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