WP Symposium < 15.8 - Blind SQL Injection

2015-08-10 00:00
Glyn Wintle

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 15.8
Affected Plugin
WP Symposium
Affected Version
< 15.8
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE pending
View all WP Symposium vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the WP Symposium WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 15.8. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 15.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2015, reported by Glyn Wintle.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Symposium plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to blind SQL Injection in versions before 15.8 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers 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.

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

Reaching this weakness in WP Symposium < 15.8 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 WP Symposium the fix is 15.8: builds < 15.8 are affected, anything from 15.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 15.8, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WP Symposium: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: WP Symposium 15.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/21c87602-bbe7-4fde-8ba2-031120212a8b

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C