CVE-2021-24728 in Paid Member Subscriptions Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/14/2021
The Membership & Content Restriction – Paid Member Subscriptions WordPress plugin before 2.4.2 did not sanitise, validate or escape its order and orderby parameters before using them in SQL statement, leading to Authenticated SQL Injections in the Members and Payments pages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-24728 affects the Membership & Content Restriction plugin for WordPress, specifically versions prior to 2.4.2, creating a significant authenticated SQL injection risk. This issue stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization within the plugin's handling of user-supplied parameters that control sorting functionality on administrative pages. The vulnerability exists in the Members and Payments sections where the plugin processes order and orderby parameters without proper security measures, allowing authenticated attackers with sufficient privileges to manipulate database queries through crafted input.
The technical flaw manifests when administrators or users with appropriate permissions navigate to the Members or Payments pages and manipulate the order and orderby parameters in the URL or form submissions. These parameters are directly incorporated into SQL queries without sanitization, validation, or escaping mechanisms, creating a classic SQL injection vector. The vulnerability is authenticated because it requires a valid user account with appropriate permissions to exploit, typically administrative or editor-level access to the WordPress site. This authentication requirement limits the attack surface but does not eliminate the risk, as compromised accounts or insider threats can leverage this vulnerability effectively.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the WordPress database, potentially leading to data exfiltration, modification, or deletion. Attackers could extract sensitive user information, payment details, membership records, and other confidential data stored within the plugin's database tables. The vulnerability could also enable privilege escalation within the affected WordPress installation, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to additional administrative functions or potentially compromise the entire site. The injection occurs in the context of the web application's database connection, making it particularly dangerous for sites that rely heavily on membership and payment functionality.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability include immediate patching to version 2.4.2 or later, which implements proper input sanitization and validation for the affected parameters. Organizations should also implement network-level monitoring to detect unusual database query patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-89, which describes improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential access. Additional defensive measures include implementing web application firewalls, enforcing least privilege access controls, and conducting regular security audits of WordPress plugins to ensure proper sanitization and validation of all user inputs. The patch addresses the root cause by implementing proper parameter validation and escaping before database queries are executed, preventing the injection of malicious SQL code through user-supplied order and orderby parameters.