CVE-2022-3246 in Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2022
The Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler WordPress plugin before 6.9.10 does not properly sanitise and escape a parameter before using it in a SQL statement, leading to a SQL injection exploitable by any authenticated users, such as subscribers
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3246 affects the Blog2Social WordPress plugin version 6.9.10 and earlier, presenting a critical SQL injection flaw that can be exploited by authenticated users with minimal privileges. This vulnerability resides within the plugin's handling of user-supplied parameters that are subsequently incorporated into database queries without proper sanitization or escaping mechanisms. The flaw specifically targets the plugin's social media scheduling functionality where user inputs are processed and directly concatenated into SQL statements, creating an exploitable vector for malicious actors.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the plugin's database interaction layer. When authenticated users submit data through the plugin's interface, particularly during social media post scheduling operations, the input parameters are not adequately sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries. This failure in input handling follows the common pattern described in CWE-89, which classifies SQL injection vulnerabilities as weaknesses in software that allows attackers to manipulate database queries through unescaped input. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it does not require administrative privileges to exploit, as any authenticated user including subscribers can leverage this flaw.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to potentially enable complete database compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive information. An attacker with subscriber-level privileges could execute arbitrary SQL commands against the WordPress database, potentially gaining access to user credentials, personal information, and other sensitive data stored within the system. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers legitimate credentials and T1046 which covers network service scanning, as attackers could use this vulnerability to expand their access within the WordPress environment and potentially move laterally to other systems.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal technical skill and can be accomplished through standard SQL injection techniques, making it particularly dangerous in environments where subscriber accounts may be easily compromised or where user access controls are not properly enforced. The vulnerability's persistence in the plugin for multiple versions indicates a lack of proper security testing and code review processes during the development lifecycle. Organizations running affected versions of the Blog2Social plugin face significant risk of data breaches and unauthorized system access, as the vulnerability allows for arbitrary code execution and data manipulation within the database.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate upgrade to version 6.9.10 or later, which contains the necessary sanitization and escaping mechanisms to prevent the SQL injection. Additionally, administrators should implement proper input validation and output escaping throughout the WordPress environment, following the principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and the Web Application Security Consortium guidelines. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other plugins and themes. Network segmentation and privileged access controls should be enforced to limit the potential damage from any successful exploitation attempts, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect unusual database access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.