Executive Summary

WordPress Booking Calendar Contact Form version 1.0.23 contains an unauthenticated blind SQL injection vulnerability. This means that remote attackers can inject malicious SQL code through the 'id' parameter without needing to log in or authenticate.

Attackers exploit this by sending specially crafted requests to the admin-ajax.php endpoint with the action parameter set to 'dex_bccf_calendar_ajaxevent'. By manipulating the 'id' parameter, they can execute arbitrary SQL queries on the database.

This vulnerability allows attackers to extract sensitive information from the database without any authentication, making it a serious security risk.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have significant impacts including unauthorized access to sensitive database information.

• Attackers can extract confidential data from the database by exploiting the SQL injection flaw.
• Since the vulnerability is unauthenticated, attackers do not need any credentials to exploit it.
• The flaw can lead to data breaches, exposing personal or business-critical information.
• It may also facilitate further attacks such as privilege escalation or injection of malicious scripts, as indicated by related vulnerabilities in the plugin.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for HTTP requests sent to the admin-ajax.php endpoint with the action parameter set to 'dex_bccf_calendar_ajaxevent' that include suspicious or crafted SQL commands in the 'id' parameter.

A practical detection method is to capture and analyze web traffic or server logs for such requests that may indicate exploitation attempts.

• Use tools like curl or wget to simulate the attack pattern and observe responses, for example:
• curl -G 'http://yourwordpresssite.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php' --data-urlencode "action=dex_bccf_calendar_ajaxevent" --data-urlencode "id=1' OR '1'='1"
• Check web server access logs for requests matching the pattern: admin-ajax.php?action=dex_bccf_calendar_ajaxevent&id=
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) or web application firewalls (WAF) to alert on suspicious SQL injection patterns targeting the 'id' parameter in these requests.

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Mitigation Strategies

The immediate mitigation step is to update the WordPress Booking Calendar Contact Form plugin to version 1.0.24 or later, where this vulnerability has been patched.

If updating is not immediately possible, restrict access to the admin-ajax.php endpoint or implement web application firewall rules to block requests with the action parameter set to 'dex_bccf_calendar_ajaxevent' containing suspicious input in the 'id' parameter.

Additionally, monitor logs for exploitation attempts and consider temporarily disabling the vulnerable plugin until a patch can be applied.

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Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries and extract sensitive database information without authentication.

Such unauthorized access to sensitive data can lead to violations of data protection regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require safeguarding personal and sensitive information against unauthorized access and breaches.

Therefore, exploitation of this vulnerability could result in non-compliance with these standards due to potential data exposure and lack of adequate security controls.

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