Executive Summary

The Apocalypse Meow plugin for WordPress has a SQL Injection vulnerability in the 'type' parameter in all versions up to and including 22.1.0.

This happens because the validation logic for the 'type' parameter uses an AND (&&) operator instead of an OR (||), causing the in_array() check to be bypassed for any non-empty type value.

Additionally, the function stripslashes_deep() removes protections from wp_magic_quotes(), allowing attacker-controlled single quotes to pass unescaped into the SQL query.

As a result, authenticated users with Administrator-level access or higher can inject additional SQL queries into existing queries, potentially extracting sensitive information from the database.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows authenticated administrators or higher to perform SQL Injection attacks.

Attackers can append malicious SQL queries to existing ones, which can lead to unauthorized extraction of sensitive data from the database.

Although the vulnerability requires high privileges (Administrator-level access), it can compromise the confidentiality of the database contents.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

I don't know

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "The vulnerability involves SQL Injection via the 'type' parameter in the Apocalypse Meow WordPress plugin's ajax.php file. Detection would involve monitoring for suspicious SQL queries or anomalous AJAX requests targeting the 'type' parameter."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "While no explicit detection commands are provided, administrators can review login activity and AJAX requests related to the plugin using the plugin's built-in AJAX actions such as 'activity' and 'activity_csv' which log login events and bans."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "To detect suspicious activity, you could query the WordPress database table named with the prefix plus 'meow2_log' for unusual entries or unexpected SQL query patterns."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'For example, using WP-CLI or direct database queries, you might run commands like:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "SELECT * FROM wp_meow2_log WHERE type LIKE '%sql_injection%' OR message LIKE '%type=%';"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Monitor AJAX requests to ajax.php with the 'type' parameter set to unusual or crafted values."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Use WordPress AJAX hooks or plugin interfaces to export login activity CSVs and analyze them for anomalies.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Note that the plugin requires administrator-level access to exploit, so monitoring admin AJAX activity and login attempts is critical.'}] [3, 4]

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Immediate mitigation steps include updating the Apocalypse Meow plugin to a version later than 22.1.0 where the vulnerability is fixed.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Since the vulnerability requires authenticated users with Administrator-level access, restricting and auditing administrator accounts and their access is critical.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Additionally, monitoring and managing login activity and bans using the plugin's enhanced admin interface and AJAX actions can help detect and prevent exploitation."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "If an update is not immediately possible, consider temporarily limiting administrator access and applying web application firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious AJAX requests targeting the 'type' parameter in ajax.php."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Resetting plugin settings to defaults and enforcing strong password policies via the plugin's retroactive password reset features can also reduce risk."}] [1, 3, 4]

Useful 0 Not Useful 0