CVE-2024-55982: Share Buttons Plugin SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2024-55982 Overview

CVE-2024-55982 is a Blind SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the Share Buttons – Social Media plugin (rich-web-share-button) for WordPress. This vulnerability exists due to improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, allowing attackers to execute malicious SQL queries against the database without receiving direct output, making it a blind SQL injection attack.

Critical Impact

This Blind SQL Injection vulnerability could allow unauthenticated or authenticated attackers to extract sensitive data from the WordPress database, including user credentials, personal information, and site configuration data.

Affected Products

• Share Buttons – Social Media (rich-web-share-button) version 1.0.2 and earlier
• WordPress installations running vulnerable versions of the plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-12-16 - CVE CVE-2024-55982 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-55982

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command). The Share Buttons – Social Media WordPress plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject malicious SQL code that gets executed against the backend database.

The blind nature of this SQL injection means that the application does not directly display database error messages or query results to the attacker. Instead, attackers must rely on time-based or boolean-based techniques to infer information about the database structure and contents by observing differences in application behavior or response times.

With an EPSS score placing this vulnerability in the 91st percentile, there is elevated probability of exploitation attempts in the wild.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the plugin's failure to implement proper input validation and parameterized queries. User-controlled data is directly concatenated into SQL statements without adequate sanitization or the use of prepared statements, enabling SQL injection attacks.

Attack Vector

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by submitting specially crafted input to the vulnerable plugin functionality. Since this is a blind SQL injection, the attacker would typically employ techniques such as:

• Time-based blind SQL injection: Injecting SQL statements that cause deliberate time delays (e.g., using SLEEP() function in MySQL) to infer database information based on response times
• Boolean-based blind SQL injection: Injecting SQL conditions that alter application behavior based on true/false evaluations, allowing attackers to extract data one bit at a time

The vulnerability affects all versions from n/a through 1.0.2, indicating it has been present since early versions of the plugin. For detailed technical information, refer to the Patchstack SQL Injection Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-55982

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns in MySQL/MariaDB slow query logs containing SLEEP(), BENCHMARK(), or WAITFOR functions
• HTTP requests to the WordPress site containing SQL meta-characters such as single quotes, semicolons, or SQL keywords in unexpected parameters
• Abnormal response times from the web server that could indicate time-based SQL injection probing
• Unexpected database connections or queries originating from the web application

Detection Strategies

• Enable WordPress debug logging and monitor for database query errors or warnings
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection payloads
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity to monitor for anomalous process behavior and database access patterns
• Review web server access logs for requests containing encoded SQL injection patterns targeting the rich-web-share-button plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure database audit logging to capture all queries executed by the WordPress application user
• Set up alerts for requests to WordPress containing SQL injection signatures
• Monitor for mass data exfiltration attempts through unusually large database read operations
• Implement rate limiting on endpoints associated with the affected plugin functionality

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-55982

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the Share Buttons – Social Media (rich-web-share-button) plugin immediately if running version 1.0.2 or earlier
• Audit WordPress database logs for any signs of SQL injection exploitation
• Review WordPress user accounts for any unauthorized additions or privilege escalations
• Consider implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to provide an additional layer of protection

Patch Information

At the time of this writing, no official patch has been confirmed for the Share Buttons – Social Media plugin. Users should monitor the Patchstack advisory and the WordPress plugin repository for updates. Until a patch is released, it is recommended to use an alternative plugin for social media sharing functionality.

Workarounds

• Remove or deactivate the rich-web-share-button plugin until a patched version is available
• Implement a WordPress security plugin that provides SQL injection protection
• Use a WAF (such as Cloudflare, Sucuri, or Wordfence) with SQL injection filtering rules enabled
• Restrict database user privileges for the WordPress installation to minimize potential impact

# Deactivate the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate rich-web-share-button

# Or remove it completely
wp plugin delete rich-web-share-button

# Verify plugin status
wp plugin list --status=active | grep rich-web