CVE-2022-0885
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-0885 is a critical vulnerability in the Member Hero WordPress plugin that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary PHP functions without arguments. This affects all WordPress sites running vulnerable versions of the plugin. The lack of authorization checks and parameter validation creates a severe remote code execution risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Member Hero WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Member Hero by Memberhero
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise through arbitrary PHP function execution leading to web shell installation, data theft, site defacement, or server takeover.
Likely Case
Attackers install backdoors, steal sensitive data, or use the compromised site for further attacks like phishing or malware distribution.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation, WAF rules, and monitoring are in place to detect and block exploitation attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple HTTP requests can trigger the vulnerability without authentication. Public exploit code is available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.1.0 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/8b08b72e-5584-4f25-ab73-5ab0f47412df
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Member Hero plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete the plugin immediately.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Member Hero Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched version is available
wp plugin deactivate member-hero
Block AJAX Endpoint via WAF
allBlock requests to the vulnerable AJAX endpoint
Block HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameter containing 'member_hero'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Immediately deactivate and remove the Member Hero plugin from all WordPress installations
- Implement web application firewall rules to block exploitation attempts and monitor for suspicious activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Member Hero version 1.0.9 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin list --name=member-hero --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Member Hero plugin version is 1.1.0 or later, or confirm plugin is not installed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with 'member_hero' action parameter
- PHP error logs showing unexpected function calls
- Web server logs showing exploitation attempts
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to admin-ajax.php with suspicious parameters from unauthenticated sources
- Traffic patterns indicating web shell communication
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND method="POST" AND (action="member_hero" OR params CONTAINS "member_hero")