WP-TopBar <= 5.36 - Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- WP-TopBar
- Affected Version
<= 5.36- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2023-23824
At a glance
CVE-2023-23824 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the WP-TopBar WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.36. 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 Administrator level or above. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed January 2023, reported by thiennv.
Vulnerability Overview
The WP-TopBar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to blind SQL Injection in versions up to, and including, 5.36 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 privileges or higher 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 interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Reaching this weakness in WP-TopBar <= 5.36 takes an account at Administrator level or above. 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. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for WP-TopBar yet, so installs running <= 5.36 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Administrator 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. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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