CVE-2024-49623: Duplicate Title Validate SQLI Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49623 Overview

CVE-2024-49623 is a Blind SQL Injection vulnerability in the Duplicate Title Validate WordPress plugin by hasan movahed. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.0. Attackers with low-privilege authenticated access can inject SQL statements into unsanitized input parameters processed by the plugin. Successful exploitation leads to unauthorized read and write access to the WordPress database, and can impact site availability. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-89, Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can extract, modify, or destroy database contents, including WordPress user credentials and session data, through blind SQL injection payloads.

Affected Products

• Hasanmovahed Duplicate Title Validate WordPress plugin, all versions through 1.0
• WordPress sites with duplicate-title-validate installed and activated
• Any WordPress instance exposing plugin endpoints to authenticated users

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-10-20 - CVE-2024-49623 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
• 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-49623

Vulnerability Analysis

The Duplicate Title Validate plugin fails to properly neutralize special SQL syntax characters in user-supplied input before incorporating that input into database queries. Because the plugin returns no direct query output, exploitation follows a blind SQL injection pattern. Attackers infer database contents through boolean-based conditions or time-based delays.

The issue requires low-privilege authentication but no user interaction. Because the attack vector is network-based, any authenticated account, including subscriber-level users if the vulnerable endpoint is broadly exposed, can trigger the injection. Successful exploitation compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause is the concatenation or interpolation of untrusted request parameters directly into SQL statements without the use of prepared statements or the WordPress $wpdb->prepare() helper. The plugin does not apply input validation or escaping via esc_sql() or parameterized queries before executing lookup logic that checks for duplicate post titles.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to a plugin endpoint that accepts a title or identifier parameter used in a database lookup. The attacker appends SQL fragments such as boolean conditions or SLEEP() calls to infer data. Repeated requests using conditional logic allow the attacker to enumerate table structures, extract wp_users credentials, or modify records. See the Patchstack advisory for additional technical context.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently referenced in the CVE record. Descriptions of the injection mechanism remain in prose as no verified exploit code has been released.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-49623

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to duplicate-title-validate plugin endpoints containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION SELECT, AND SLEEP(, or comment sequences (--, /*)
• Anomalous response latency spikes on plugin request paths, consistent with time-based blind SQL injection
• Unexpected reads or modifications to the wp_users, wp_usermeta, or wp_options tables from the WordPress database user
• Web server access logs showing authenticated sessions issuing repeated requests with incrementally modified parameters

Detection Strategies

• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with WordPress-aware signatures to flag SQL injection patterns targeting plugin routes
• Enable MySQL general query logging temporarily to identify queries containing attacker-controlled boolean or timing payloads
• Correlate WordPress audit logs with authentication events to identify low-privilege accounts issuing plugin API requests at abnormal rates
• Scan installed plugins with tools such as wpscan to confirm the presence of vulnerable duplicate-title-validate versions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Alert on repeated 200-response requests to the plugin endpoint from a single authenticated session within short time windows
• Monitor for outbound database errors surfaced in PHP error logs referencing the plugin file paths
• Track newly created administrator accounts or unexpected changes to wp_optionssiteurl and home values

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-49623

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the Duplicate Title Validate plugin until a patched version is confirmed available
• Rotate WordPress administrator, editor, and database user credentials if the plugin was active and exposed
• Review WordPress audit logs and database contents for signs of unauthorized data access or modification
• Restrict access to /wp-admin and plugin AJAX endpoints via IP allowlists where operationally feasible

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version beyond 1.0 has been identified in the vendor references. Site owners should monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org listing for an updated release. Until a vendor patch is issued, removal remains the recommended remediation.

Workarounds

• Uninstall the plugin and use an alternative maintained plugin that provides equivalent duplicate-title validation
• Apply virtual patching rules at the WAF layer to block requests containing SQL metacharacters on the plugin's endpoints
• Enforce least-privilege database credentials for the WordPress DB_USER, removing DROP, ALTER, and FILE privileges where not required
• Require multi-factor authentication for all WordPress accounts to limit abuse of the authenticated attack path

# Configuration example: remove the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate duplicate-title-validate
wp plugin delete duplicate-title-validate

# Verify removal
wp plugin list --status=active | grep -i duplicate-title-validate