CVE-2024-56290: WooCommerce Address Plugin SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-56290 Overview

CVE-2024-56290 is a SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the "Multiple Shipping And Billing Address For WooCommerce" WordPress plugin developed by silverplugins217. This vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands through improperly neutralized special elements, potentially compromising the underlying database and sensitive customer information stored within WooCommerce installations.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated SQL Injection vulnerability allows attackers to extract, modify, or delete database contents without requiring authentication, potentially exposing customer payment information, personal data, and WordPress credentials.

Affected Products

• Multiple Shipping And Billing Address For WooCommerce plugin version 1.2 and earlier
• WordPress installations using the different-shipping-and-billing-address-for-woocommerce plugin
• WooCommerce stores with the affected plugin enabled

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-01-07 - CVE-2024-56290 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-56290

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries, creating a direct pathway for database manipulation.

The unauthenticated nature of this vulnerability significantly increases its risk profile. Attackers do not need valid WordPress credentials or customer accounts to exploit this flaw, making every WooCommerce store running the affected plugin version a potential target.

SQL Injection vulnerabilities in e-commerce plugins are particularly dangerous because WooCommerce databases contain sensitive customer information including names, addresses, order history, and potentially payment details depending on the store configuration.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-56290 lies in insufficient input validation and improper use of database query construction within the plugin's codebase. The plugin appears to accept user input related to shipping and billing address functionality and passes this data directly into SQL queries without proper sanitization, parameterization, or prepared statements.

WordPress provides built-in methods like $wpdb->prepare() for creating secure database queries, but the vulnerable plugin versions fail to leverage these protections, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and execute arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this SQL Injection vulnerability involves crafting malicious input through the plugin's address management functionality. An attacker can submit specially crafted payloads containing SQL metacharacters and commands that, when processed by the vulnerable code, execute against the WordPress database.

Typical exploitation scenarios include:

The vulnerability can be exploited through web requests to endpoints handled by the plugin. Attackers inject SQL syntax through input fields or parameters related to address management. The malicious SQL payload bypasses input validation and executes directly against the database, potentially allowing data extraction using UNION-based or blind SQL injection techniques. For technical details on the exploitation mechanism, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-56290

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns in WordPress/MySQL logs containing SQL injection signatures such as UNION SELECT, ' OR 1=1, or -- comments
• Unexpected database access patterns or queries accessing wp_users or wp_usermeta tables from plugin contexts
• Web server access logs showing suspicious requests to WooCommerce address endpoints with encoded SQL characters
• Database error messages appearing in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in requests to WordPress endpoints
• Monitor WordPress database logs for anomalous query patterns, especially those involving address-related plugin tables
• Implement intrusion detection signatures for common SQL injection payloads targeting WooCommerce installations
• Use vulnerability scanners to identify outdated or vulnerable WordPress plugins including this specific plugin version

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for WordPress database queries and review for injection attempts
• Configure alerting for failed SQL queries or database errors that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Monitor for unusual outbound data transfers that could indicate successful data exfiltration
• Implement file integrity monitoring to detect any unauthorized changes to plugin files

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-56290

Immediate Actions Required

• Identify all WordPress installations using the "Multiple Shipping And Billing Address For WooCommerce" plugin version 1.2 or earlier
• Disable or remove the vulnerable plugin until a patched version is available and verified
• Review database access logs for signs of exploitation and investigate any suspicious activity
• Consider implementing a WAF rule to block requests to the plugin's endpoints as a temporary measure

Patch Information

Users should check the WordPress plugin repository and the Patchstack vulnerability report for updates regarding patched versions. If no patch is available, consider alternative plugins that provide similar functionality with proper security implementations.

Workarounds

• Disable the vulnerable plugin entirely if it is not critical to business operations
• Implement WAF rules to filter SQL injection patterns from requests targeting the plugin
• Restrict access to WordPress admin and WooCommerce endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
• Use a WordPress security plugin with virtual patching capabilities to mitigate the vulnerability until an official patch is released

# WordPress CLI command to deactivate the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate different-shipping-and-billing-address-for-woocommerce

# Verify the plugin is deactivated
wp plugin status different-shipping-and-billing-address-for-woocommerce