Limit Login Attempts <= 5.5 - Unauthenticated SQL Injeciton
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 5.6
- Affected Plugin
- Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection)
- Affected Version
<= 5.5- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2024-54234
At a glance
CVE-2024-54234 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.5. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 5.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2024, reported by LVT-tholv2k.
Vulnerability Overview
The Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection in all versions up to, and including, 5.5 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database.
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.
CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Reaching this weakness in Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) <= 5.5 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 Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) the fix is 5.6: builds <= 5.5 are affected, anything from 5.6 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 5.6, 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: Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) 5.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection)
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