CVE-2026-15153: WP Hotel Booking Plugin SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2026-15153 Overview

CVE-2026-15153 is a SQL injection vulnerability in the WP Hotel Booking WordPress plugin before version 2.3.2. The plugin fails to sanitize and escape a search parameter on an administrative listing before using it in a SQL query. Authenticated users holding booking-management roles can inject arbitrary SQL statements through this parameter. Successful exploitation allows attackers to extract, modify, or delete data from the WordPress database.

Critical Impact
Authenticated users with booking-management roles can execute arbitrary SQL queries against the WordPress database, potentially exposing customer booking data, payment information, and other sensitive content.

Affected Products

WP Hotel Booking WordPress plugin versions prior to 2.3.2
WordPress installations using booking-management roles from this plugin
Hotel and hospitality sites relying on this plugin for reservations

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-30 - CVE-2026-15153 published to NVD
2026-07-30 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-15153

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection [CWE-89] in the administrative interface of WP Hotel Booking. The plugin exposes a search parameter on a booking listing page accessible to users with booking-management privileges. The plugin concatenates this parameter into a SQL query without applying WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_sql() or prepared statements via $wpdb->prepare().

Because the injection point sits in an authenticated administrative context, the attacker must possess a role that includes booking-management capabilities. WordPress deployments often grant these roles to hotel staff, contractors, or lower-privilege accounts, which broadens the effective attack surface beyond site administrators.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing input sanitization and the absence of parameterized queries. The search parameter flows directly from an HTTP request into a SQL statement executed against the WordPress database. Any single quote, UNION clause, or comment sequence supplied by the attacker becomes part of the query syntax.

Attack Vector

An authenticated user with booking-management privileges submits a crafted search value through the affected administrative listing. The malicious payload manipulates the SQL query to return arbitrary rows, extract data through UNION-based techniques, or trigger blind boolean and time-based inference. Refer to the WPScan Vulnerability Report for further technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-15153

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual SQL syntax such as UNION SELECT, SLEEP(, or INFORMATION_SCHEMA appearing in web server access logs for WP Hotel Booking admin endpoints
Unexpected database errors logged by WordPress or MySQL originating from booking-management pages
Booking-management accounts issuing repeated search queries with abnormal payload lengths or encoded characters

Detection Strategies

Inspect access logs for requests to WP Hotel Booking administrative listing URLs containing SQL metacharacters in the search parameter
Enable WordPress debug logging and MySQL general query logging to correlate injection attempts with database activity
Deploy a web application firewall rule set that flags SQL injection patterns targeting /wp-admin/ endpoints associated with the plugin

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor authentication events for booking-management role accounts and alert on anomalous session activity
Track schema queries against tables prefixed by the plugin, including sudden SELECT statements referencing wp_users or wp_options
Review plugin version inventory across WordPress fleets to identify installations still running versions before 2.3.2

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-15153

Immediate Actions Required

Update the WP Hotel Booking plugin to version 2.3.2 or later on all WordPress instances
Audit users assigned booking-management roles and remove unnecessary privileges
Rotate WordPress administrator and database credentials if injection activity is suspected

Patch Information

The vendor addressed the vulnerability in WP Hotel Booking version 2.3.2 by adding sanitization and parameterization to the affected search parameter. Administrators should upgrade through the WordPress plugin repository or by replacing plugin files with the patched release. Consult the WPScan Vulnerability Report for reference details.

Workarounds

Temporarily revoke booking-management capabilities from non-essential accounts until patching completes
Restrict access to /wp-admin/ using IP allow-lists at the reverse proxy or firewall layer
Deploy WAF signatures that block SQL injection payloads targeting the plugin's administrative search parameter

bash

# Configuration example: update the plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin update wp-hotel-booking --version=2.3.2
wp plugin list --name=wp-hotel-booking --fields=name,status,version