CVE-2021-24866
📋 TL;DR
This SQL injection vulnerability in the WP Data Access WordPress plugin allows attackers to delete arbitrary database tables by exploiting unsanitized backup_date parameter input. It affects WordPress sites running WP Data Access plugin versions before 5.0.0. Attackers can execute malicious SQL commands through the vulnerable parameter.
💻 Affected Systems
- WP Data Access WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Wp Data Access by Wpdataaccess
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database destruction leading to site unavailability, data loss, and potential privilege escalation if system tables are deleted.
Likely Case
Selective table deletion causing partial data loss, site functionality disruption, and potential downtime.
If Mitigated
No impact if proper input validation and parameterized queries are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection via backup_date parameter requires no authentication and has simple exploitation vectors.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.0.0 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-data-access/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find WP Data Access plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 5.0.0+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable plugin
allTemporarily deactivate WP Data Access plugin until patched version can be installed.
wp plugin deactivate wp-data-access
Web Application Firewall rule
allBlock requests containing SQL injection patterns targeting backup_date parameter.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation for all user-supplied parameters
- Add database backup and restore procedures to minimize data loss impact
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → WP Data Access → Version number. If version is below 5.0.0, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get wp-data-access --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 5.0.0 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL DELETE statements in database logs
- Multiple failed backup operations with malformed dates
- Web server logs showing requests with SQL injection patterns in backup_date parameter
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with SQL payloads in parameters
- Unusual database connection patterns from web server
SIEM Query:
source="web_server_logs" AND (uri="*/admin-ajax.php" OR uri="*/wp-admin/*") AND (param="backup_date" AND value MATCH "[';]|UNION|DELETE|DROP")