CVE-2020-35012
📋 TL;DR
This SQL injection vulnerability in the Events Manager WordPress plugin allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands on affected WordPress sites. It affects all WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of the plugin, potentially compromising site data and functionality.
💻 Affected Systems
- Events Manager WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data manipulation, privilege escalation, or complete site takeover.
Likely Case
Unauthorized data access, including sensitive user information, event data, and potentially administrative credentials.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and database permissions, potentially only allowing data viewing without modification.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection vulnerabilities are commonly exploited, and proof-of-concept details are publicly available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.9.8
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2336019/events-manager
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel
2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
3. Find Events Manager plugin
4. Click 'Update Now' if available
5. If manual update needed, download version 5.9.8+ from WordPress.org
6. Deactivate old plugin, upload new version, activate
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
allDisable the Events Manager plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate events-manager
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block SQL injection patterns
- Restrict database user permissions to read-only where possible
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Events Manager version numberCheck Version:
wp plugin get events-manager --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 5.9.8 or higher in WordPress admin📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple failed login attempts following SQL patterns
- Unexpected database errors in WordPress logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with SQL injection patterns in parameters
- Unusual database connection patterns
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "events-manager" AND ("SQL" OR "database error")