WP-DBManager <= 2.80.7 - Authenticated (Admin+) Remote Code Execution on Multi-Site
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.80.8
- Affected Plugin
- WP-DBManager
- Affected Version
<= 2.80.7- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2022-2354
At a glance
CVE-2022-2354 is a high-severity Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in the WP-DBManager WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.80.7. 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 2.80.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2022, reported by Raad Haddad.
Vulnerability Overview
The WP-DBManager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to remote code execution due to an incorrect capability check in the ~/database-backup.php file in versions up to, and including, 2.80.7. This makes it possible for high level authenticated users, such as administrators, to run arbitrary commands on the affected server. This only affects multi-site installations where an administrator wouldn't have the capability to run arbitrary code.
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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Reaching this weakness in WP-DBManager <= 2.80.7 takes an account at Admin level or above. Code injection means input from a request reaches a language construct that evaluates code, so the attacker's text is executed rather than treated as data.
The injected code runs with the web server's privileges, giving the attacker the same access to the database and filesystem as WordPress itself. For WP-DBManager the fix is 2.80.8: builds <= 2.80.7 are affected, anything from 2.80.8 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.80.8, 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. 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-DBManager 2.80.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in WP-DBManager
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