CVE-2024-55981: Nabz Image Gallery SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2024-55981 Overview

CVE-2024-55981 is a SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the Nabz Image Gallery plugin for WordPress. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL queries into the application. This classic web application security flaw enables unauthorized database access and manipulation.

Critical Impact

Attackers can exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the WordPress database, potentially including user credentials, personal information, and administrative access tokens.

Affected Products

• Nabz Image Gallery WordPress Plugin version 1.00 and earlier
• WordPress installations with the nabz-image-gallery plugin activated

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-12-16 - CVE-2024-55981 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-55981

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command). The Nabz Image Gallery plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This lack of input validation creates an injection point where attackers can manipulate database queries to execute arbitrary SQL commands.

The vulnerability's high EPSS score of 9.198% (92.685 percentile) indicates that this vulnerability has a significantly elevated probability of exploitation compared to most vulnerabilities, making immediate remediation a priority for affected WordPress sites.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the plugin's failure to implement proper input sanitization and parameterized queries. When user input is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper escaping or the use of prepared statements, attackers can break out of the intended query structure and inject their own SQL commands. WordPress provides built-in functions like $wpdb->prepare() for safe database interactions, but the vulnerable plugin does not utilize these protections.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this SQL Injection vulnerability involves crafting malicious input containing SQL metacharacters and commands. An attacker can submit specially crafted requests to the vulnerable plugin endpoints, where the malicious payload is processed and executed against the WordPress database.

Typical exploitation scenarios include:

• Data Exfiltration: Using UNION-based injection to extract data from other database tables, including wp_users containing password hashes
• Authentication Bypass: Manipulating WHERE clauses to bypass authentication checks
• Database Manipulation: Inserting, updating, or deleting records in the WordPress database
• Privilege Escalation: Creating new administrative accounts or elevating existing user privileges

For technical details on the vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-55981

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database queries in WordPress debug logs containing SQL syntax like UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or encoded SQL commands
• Unexpected changes to WordPress user accounts or permissions
• Evidence of data extraction attempts in web server access logs targeting nabz-image-gallery plugin endpoints
• Database error messages appearing in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in requests
• Monitor WordPress audit logs for unusual administrative actions or user account modifications
• Implement database activity monitoring to alert on anomalous query patterns or unauthorized data access
• Review web server logs for requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting the nabz-image-gallery plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable WordPress debug logging and monitor for database-related errors
• Configure real-time alerting for any modifications to the wp_users or wp_usermeta tables
• Implement endpoint detection on WordPress servers to identify post-exploitation activities
• Regularly audit database access logs for queries originating from the web application that deviate from normal patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-55981

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately deactivate and remove the Nabz Image Gallery plugin (nabz-image-gallery) from all WordPress installations
• Audit WordPress user accounts for any unauthorized additions or privilege changes
• Review database contents for signs of tampering or unauthorized data access
• Consider implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules

Patch Information

As of the available information, there is no patched version of the Nabz Image Gallery plugin available. The vulnerability affects version 1.00 and earlier. Site administrators should remove the plugin entirely and consider using an alternative, actively maintained image gallery solution that follows WordPress security best practices.

Workarounds

• Remove the nabz-image-gallery plugin completely from WordPress installations
• If removal is not immediately possible, implement WAF rules to filter SQL injection attempts targeting plugin endpoints
• Restrict database user permissions for the WordPress application to minimum required privileges
• Consider using WordPress security plugins that provide SQL injection protection at the application layer

# Remove the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate nabz-image-gallery --path=/var/www/html
wp plugin delete nabz-image-gallery --path=/var/www/html

# Verify plugin removal
wp plugin list --path=/var/www/html | grep nabz