CVE-2024-50479: WooCommerce Quote Calculator SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-50479 Overview

CVE-2024-50479 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the WooCommerce Quote Calculator plugin for WordPress. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to perform blind SQL injection attacks against vulnerable WordPress installations, potentially leading to complete database compromise, data exfiltration, and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this blind SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive database contents, modify data, or potentially achieve remote code execution on affected WordPress sites.

Affected Products

• WooCommerce Quote Calculator (woo-quote-calculator-order) version 1.1 and earlier
• WordPress installations running the vulnerable plugin versions
• E-commerce sites using the affected quote calculator functionality

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-10-28 - CVE-2024-50479 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-50479

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command. The WooCommerce Quote Calculator plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries, creating a blind SQL injection vulnerability. The network-accessible nature of this flaw means attackers require no authentication or user interaction to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous for public-facing WordPress e-commerce sites.

The blind SQL injection variant allows attackers to infer database contents through true/false responses or time-based delays, even when direct query results are not returned to the attacker. This can lead to complete extraction of database credentials, customer information, payment data, and other sensitive records stored in the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-50479 is insufficient input validation and sanitization in the WooCommerce Quote Calculator plugin. User-controllable parameters are directly concatenated into SQL queries without proper escaping or the use of parameterized queries (prepared statements). WordPress provides built-in functions like $wpdb->prepare() specifically to prevent SQL injection, but the vulnerable plugin fails to utilize these security mechanisms.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to exploit this vulnerability. Attackers can craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoints. The blind nature of this SQL injection means attackers use inference techniques—either boolean-based (observing different responses) or time-based (using SQL SLEEP functions)—to extract data character by character from the database.

Common attack scenarios include:

• Extracting WordPress administrator credentials from the wp_users table
• Accessing customer data including emails, addresses, and order information
• Retrieving sensitive configuration data from wp_options
• Potential escalation to remote code execution through database manipulation

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-50479

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns in WordPress or web server logs showing SQL syntax fragments
• HTTP requests to quote calculator endpoints containing SQL metacharacters (single quotes, semicolons, UNION statements, or time-based payloads like SLEEP())
• Unexpected database performance degradation potentially caused by time-based injection probes
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database access in audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in requests
• Monitor WordPress database query logs for anomalous queries originating from the quote calculator plugin
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) configured with SQL injection signature rules
• Enable detailed logging on WordPress and review for suspicious parameter values in quote calculator requests

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for SQL injection attack patterns in WAF logs
• Monitor for repeated requests to quote calculator endpoints with varying payloads indicative of automated exploitation tools
• Track database query execution times to identify potential time-based blind SQL injection attempts
• Review access logs for requests from known malicious IP addresses or unusual geographic sources

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-50479

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately deactivate and remove the WooCommerce Quote Calculator plugin from all WordPress installations
• Review database access logs and WordPress audit logs for signs of exploitation
• Consider resetting all database credentials and WordPress user passwords as a precautionary measure
• Implement a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection if not already in place
• Perform a security audit to verify no unauthorized changes have been made to the database

Patch Information

As of the published advisory, no patched version has been confirmed for the WooCommerce Quote Calculator plugin. Organizations should consult the Patchstack vulnerability database for the latest patch status and remediation guidance. Until a secure version is available, complete removal of the plugin is recommended.

Workarounds

• Disable or remove the WooCommerce Quote Calculator plugin entirely until a patched version is released
• If the plugin is business-critical, implement strict WAF rules to filter SQL injection payloads targeting the plugin endpoints
• Restrict access to the quote calculator functionality to authenticated users only via WordPress access controls
• Use database-level monitoring and query filtering to block suspicious SQL patterns originating from WordPress

# WordPress CLI commands to disable the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate woo-quote-calculator-order
wp plugin delete woo-quote-calculator-order

# Verify plugin removal
wp plugin list --status=active | grep -i quote