CVE-2024-51623: WP EIS WordPress Plugin SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2024-51623 Overview

CVE-2024-51623 is a SQL injection vulnerability in the mehral WP EIS WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions of WP EIS up to and including 1.3.3. The plugin fails to properly neutralize special elements used in SQL commands, allowing authenticated attackers to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The issue is tracked under CWE-89 and is exploitable over the network with low privileges required.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can execute arbitrary SQL queries against the WordPress database, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data and potential database manipulation across trust boundaries.

Affected Products

WP EIS WordPress plugin versions up to and including 1.3.3
Vendor: mehral
WordPress installations using the WP EIS plugin

Discovery Timeline

2024-11-09 - CVE-2024-51623 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-51623

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the WP EIS WordPress plugin developed by mehral. The plugin constructs SQL queries using unsanitized user input, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL syntax into database operations. An attacker with low-privilege authentication can craft requests that manipulate SQL query logic executed by the plugin.

The scope-changed nature of the flaw indicates the injection can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component, extending its reach across the WordPress database. Successful exploitation can expose sensitive stored data, including user credentials, session tokens, and configuration values. The vulnerability affects all WP EIS releases through version 1.3.3.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, classified under CWE-89. The plugin passes attacker-controlled input into SQL statements without using prepared statements or the WordPress $wpdb->prepare() API. This allows attacker-supplied metacharacters such as single quotes and SQL keywords to alter the intended query structure.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the WordPress site and authenticated access with low privileges. The attacker sends crafted HTTP requests containing malicious SQL payloads to vulnerable plugin endpoints. No user interaction is required beyond the initial authentication. See the Patchstack WordPress Plugin Vulnerability advisory for additional technical context.

// No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available.
// The vulnerability manifests when user-supplied parameters are
// concatenated directly into SQL queries without sanitization
// or parameterized query bindings.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-51623

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to WP EIS plugin endpoints containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or SQL comment sequences (--, /*)
Unexpected database error messages in WordPress logs referencing the WP EIS plugin
Anomalous outbound data volumes or long-running database queries originating from the plugin
New or modified WordPress administrator accounts not created through legitimate workflows

Detection Strategies

Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection detection rules covering WordPress plugin endpoints
Enable MySQL query logging and alert on queries containing suspicious concatenation patterns from the WP EIS plugin context
Review WordPress access logs for authenticated users submitting requests with encoded SQL syntax
Correlate authentication events with subsequent parameter tampering against WP EIS URLs

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor the wp-content/plugins/wp-eis/ directory for unexpected file modifications
Track HTTP requests to WP EIS endpoints, focusing on POST and GET parameters carrying injection payloads
Alert on database schema queries such as information_schema access originating from WordPress user contexts
Review WordPress user tables for unauthorized privilege changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-51623

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress instances running WP EIS version 1.3.3 or earlier and inventory affected sites
Deactivate the WP EIS plugin until a patched version is confirmed installed
Rotate WordPress administrator credentials and database user passwords if exploitation is suspected
Review WordPress user tables and audit logs for unauthorized changes

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version was identified in the referenced advisory. The vulnerability affects WP EIS up to and including version 1.3.3. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the WordPress plugin repository for a patched release.

Workarounds

Disable and remove the WP EIS plugin from affected WordPress installations if a patched version is unavailable
Restrict access to WordPress authenticated endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
Deploy a WAF ruleset targeting SQL injection patterns against WordPress plugin paths
Apply the principle of least privilege to the WordPress database user account, limiting INFORMATION_SCHEMA and FILE privileges

bash

# Example WAF rule pattern (ModSecurity syntax)
SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i:(union(.*?)select|or\s+1=1|--|/\*))" \
    "id:1051623,phase:2,deny,status:403,\
    msg:'Potential SQL Injection targeting WP EIS plugin',\
    tag:'CVE-2024-51623'"