CVE-2022-1905
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands on WordPress sites using the Events Made Easy plugin. Attackers can potentially steal sensitive data, modify database content, or take control of the website. All WordPress installations with vulnerable plugin versions are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Events Made Easy Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Events Made Easy by E Dynamics
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, website defacement, or full administrative access to the WordPress installation.
Likely Case
Data exfiltration of user information, plugin settings, or other sensitive database content.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper input validation and prepared statements are implemented at the application layer.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection via AJAX endpoint available to unauthenticated users makes exploitation straightforward.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.2.81
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/ff5fd894-aff3-400a-8eec-fad9d50f788e
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Events Made Easy plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. Alternatively, download version 2.2.81+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable AJAX endpoint
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable AJAX action via .htaccess or web application firewall
# Add to .htaccess to block the vulnerable endpoint
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} action=eme_ajax [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
Web Application Firewall rule
allBlock SQL injection attempts targeting the eme_ajax action
WAF rule to block: POST requests containing 'action=eme_ajax' with SQL injection patterns
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the Events Made Easy plugin entirely until patched
- Implement strict input validation and parameterized queries at the application level
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Events Made Easy version number. If version is below 2.2.81, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='events-made-easy' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 2.2.81 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with 'action=eme_ajax' parameter containing SQL syntax
- Unusual database queries from web server process
- Multiple failed SQL queries from same source
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests with SQL injection payloads in parameters
- Traffic spikes to admin-ajax.php endpoint
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND (param="action=eme_ajax" OR sql_keywords IN request_body)