CVE-2022-0846
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to perform SQL injection attacks against WordPress sites running the SpeakOut! Email Petitions plugin. Attackers can execute arbitrary SQL commands to steal, modify, or delete database content. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- SpeakOut! Email Petitions WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Speakout\! Email Petitions by Speakout\! Email Petitions Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data destruction, or full site takeover via privilege escalation.
Likely Case
Data exfiltration of sensitive information from the WordPress database, including user credentials and personal data.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper input validation and prepared statements are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection via unsanitized 'id' parameter in dk_speakout_sendmail AJAX endpoint.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.14.15.1
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/b030296d-688e-44a4-a48a-140375f2c5f4
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find SpeakOut! Email Petitions. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or manually update to version 2.14.15.1 or later.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable AJAX endpoint
allRemove or restrict access to the dk_speakout_sendmail AJAX action.
Add to theme's functions.php: remove_action('wp_ajax_dk_speakout_sendmail', 'dk_speakout_sendmail'); remove_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_dk_speakout_sendmail', 'dk_speakout_sendmail');
Web Application Firewall rule
allBlock SQL injection patterns targeting the vulnerable endpoint.
WAF rule: Block requests containing SQL injection patterns to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=dk_speakout_sendmail
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the SpeakOut! Email Petitions plugin immediately.
- Implement strict network segmentation and limit external access to affected systems.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for SpeakOut! Email Petitions version.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='SpeakOut! Email Petitions' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 2.14.15.1 or later in WordPress admin.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=dk_speakout_sendmail
Network Indicators:
- SQL injection patterns in HTTP POST parameters
- Unusual outbound database connections
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND params.action="dk_speakout_sendmail" AND (params.id CONTAINS "'" OR params.id CONTAINS "--" OR params.id CONTAINS ";")