CVE-2024-6265: Ayecode UsersWP SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2024-6265 Overview

CVE-2024-6265 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WordPress. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.2.10 and allows unauthenticated attackers to perform time-based SQL Injection attacks via the uwp_sort_by parameter. Due to insufficient escaping of user-supplied input and lack of proper preparation on the existing SQL query, attackers can append additional SQL queries to extract sensitive information from the database.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the WordPress database, potentially compromising user credentials, personal information, and site configuration data without requiring any authentication.

Affected Products

• Ayecode UsersWP plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 1.2.10
• WordPress sites using the UsersWP plugin for user registration and profile management
• WordPress installations with the vulnerable class-uwp-settings-user-sorting.php component

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-06-29 - CVE-2024-6265 published to NVD
• 2024-11-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-6265

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (SQL Injection), a critical web application security flaw that occurs when untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. In the case of CVE-2024-6265, the UsersWP plugin fails to properly sanitize user input passed through the uwp_sort_by parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries.

The time-based SQL Injection technique allows attackers to infer information from the database by observing differences in response times. By crafting malicious payloads that cause the database to pause for specific durations when certain conditions are true, attackers can systematically extract data character by character, including usernames, password hashes, email addresses, and other sensitive information stored in the WordPress database.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication, meaning any remote attacker with network access to the WordPress site can exploit it.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies within the class-uwp-settings-user-sorting.php file at line 45. The code fails to implement proper input sanitization and parameterized queries for the uwp_sort_by parameter. Instead of using WordPress's prepared statements ($wpdb->prepare()) to safely handle user input, the plugin directly incorporates user-supplied values into the SQL query construction, creating an injection point.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no privileges or user interaction. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to a WordPress site running the vulnerable UsersWP plugin. The malicious payload is injected through the uwp_sort_by parameter, which is processed by the user sorting functionality.

The time-based blind SQL Injection technique typically involves injecting payloads that utilize database-specific time delay functions (such as SLEEP() in MySQL) to determine if injected conditions evaluate as true. By measuring response times, attackers can exfiltrate data without receiving direct query output.

For technical details on the vulnerable code pattern and exploitation mechanics, refer to the WordPress Plugin Code File and the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-6265

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests containing SQL keywords or time-based injection payloads in the uwp_sort_by parameter
• Database queries with abnormally long execution times indicating potential SLEEP() function abuse
• Web server logs showing repeated requests with varying uwp_sort_by values from the same source IP
• Unexpected database load spikes correlating with HTTP requests to user directory or profile pages

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL Injection patterns in the uwp_sort_by parameter
• Monitor web server access logs for requests containing suspicious characters such as single quotes, SQL keywords (SLEEP, BENCHMARK, UNION, SELECT), or encoded payloads
• Deploy database query monitoring to identify queries with unusual execution patterns or time delays
• Use SentinelOne's application security monitoring to detect exploitation attempts against WordPress installations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all HTTP requests to WordPress user management endpoints
• Configure alerts for database queries exceeding normal execution time thresholds
• Monitor for repeated failed requests from single IP addresses targeting UsersWP plugin endpoints
• Implement real-time log analysis to correlate suspicious parameter values with database performance anomalies

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-6265

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the UsersWP plugin to version 1.2.11 or later immediately
• Audit database access logs for signs of prior exploitation attempts
• Review and rotate database credentials if exploitation is suspected
• Implement WAF rules to block SQL Injection attempts as a defense-in-depth measure
• Consider temporarily disabling the UsersWP plugin if immediate patching is not possible

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in the official patch released by Ayecode. The security fix can be reviewed in the WordPress Changeset Update, which implements proper input sanitization and prepared statements for the uwp_sort_by parameter. WordPress administrators should update to the patched version through the WordPress plugin update mechanism or by downloading the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository.

Workarounds

• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL Injection detection rules to filter malicious requests
• Restrict access to user directory and profile pages to authenticated users only until patching is complete
• Implement server-level request filtering to block requests containing common SQL Injection patterns in query parameters
• Consider using WordPress security plugins that provide virtual patching capabilities for known vulnerabilities

# Configuration example - Apache mod_rewrite rule to block suspicious uwp_sort_by parameters
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} uwp_sort_by=.*(\%27|\'|--|\%23|\%3B|sleep|benchmark|union|select) [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]