CVE-2021-44097 in Contact-Form-With-Messages-Entry-Management
Summary
by MITRE • 06/02/2022
EGavilan Media Contact-Form-With-Messages-Entry-Management 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection via Addmessage.php. This allows a remote attacker to compromise Application SQL database.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-44097 affects the Media Contact-Form-With-Messages-Entry-Management plugin version 1.0, which is a WordPress plugin designed for managing contact form submissions and message entries. This particular plugin serves as a communication bridge between website visitors and administrators, handling sensitive data exchanges through database interactions. The flaw manifests within the Addmessage.php component which processes incoming form data and stores it in the backend database system. Security researchers discovered that this plugin fails to properly sanitize user inputs before incorporating them into SQL queries, creating a critical security gap that can be exploited by malicious actors.
The technical exploitation of this SQL injection vulnerability occurs when an attacker submits maliciously crafted input through the contact form interface. The Addmessage.php script does not adequately validate or escape user-supplied data before executing database operations, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands. This vulnerability maps directly to CWE-89 which defines SQL injection as the insertion of malicious SQL code into input fields for execution by the database engine. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it operates at the application layer, requiring no special privileges or advanced techniques beyond crafting malicious payloads. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to extract sensitive information from the database, modify existing records, or even delete entire tables depending on the database permissions assigned to the application's database user account.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it can lead to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive user information. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can potentially access all contact form submissions, user credentials stored in the database, and other confidential communications that passed through the affected plugin. This type of attack can result in significant reputational damage, regulatory compliance violations, and potential legal consequences for organizations that fail to protect their data. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects a widely used WordPress plugin, meaning that numerous websites could be compromised simultaneously, creating a potential attack surface that spans across multiple organizations and industries. The persistence of this vulnerability in a plugin version that appears to be actively distributed demonstrates the ongoing challenges in maintaining secure software development practices within the WordPress ecosystem.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of the affected plugin to the latest secure version, which typically includes proper input sanitization and parameterized query implementations. Organizations should implement robust database access controls, ensuring that the application's database user account operates with minimal required privileges and that database queries are properly parameterized to prevent injection attacks. Network-based security controls such as web application firewalls should be deployed to monitor and filter suspicious database queries that attempt to exploit SQL injection vulnerabilities. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the entire application stack, with particular attention to custom code implementations and third-party plugin integrations. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of adhering to security best practices such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks, which emphasize the critical need for secure coding practices and proper input validation at all levels of application development. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1190 technique for exploitation of remote services, emphasizing the need for comprehensive network security controls and regular vulnerability assessments to prevent such attacks from succeeding.