WP Database Backup < 5.2 - Unauthenticated OS Command Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 5.2
- Affected Version
< 5.2- CVSS
- 9.8Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2019-25224
At a glance
CVE-2019-25224 is a critical-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability in the WP Database Backup WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 5.2. 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 5.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2019.
Vulnerability Overview
The WP Database Backup plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to OS Command Injection in versions before 5.2 via the mysqldump function. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the host operating system.
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-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.
Remediation
Update to version 5.2, 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. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: WP Database Backup 5.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Login Security
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in WP Database Backup – Unlimited Database & Files Backup by Backup for WP
- 9.8WP Database Backup <= 5.1.2 Settings Update to Remote Code Execution
- 8.8WP Database Backup <= 4.3.5 Cross-Site Request Forgery
- 8.8CVE-2016-10874: WP Database Backup <= 4.3.2 Cross-Site Request Forgery
CVE-2016-10874 - 8.8CVE-2016-10876: WP Database Backup <= 4.3 Cross-Site Request Forgery
CVE-2016-10876 - 7.5CVE-2024-12330: WP Database Backup Database Back-Up Exposure
CVE-2024-12330 - 7.5CVE-2020-7241: WP Database Backup <= 5.5 Information Disclosure
CVE-2020-7241 - 7.2CVE-2026-9834: WP Database Backup <= 7.11 OS Command Injection
CVE-2026-9834 - 6.4WP Database Backup < 3.4 Stored Cross-Site Scripting
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