CVE-2024-11437
📋 TL;DR
The Timeline Designer WordPress plugin contains an SQL injection vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries through the 's' parameter. This can lead to sensitive database information disclosure. All WordPress sites using this plugin version 1.4 or earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Timeline Designer plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise including user credentials, sensitive content, and potential privilege escalation leading to full site takeover.
Likely Case
Extraction of sensitive data such as user emails, hashed passwords, and private content from the database.
If Mitigated
Limited information disclosure if database permissions are properly restricted and sensitive data is encrypted.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection via GET parameter requires minimal technical skill to exploit.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.5 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/timeline-designer/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Timeline Designer plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete plugin.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
WAF Rule Implementation
allAdd web application firewall rules to block SQL injection patterns in the 's' parameter
Plugin Deactivation
linuxTemporarily disable the Timeline Designer plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate timeline-designer
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and parameterized queries in custom code
- Restrict database user permissions to SELECT only for the plugin's tables
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Timeline Designer version. If version is 1.4 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get timeline-designer --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 1.5 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple requests with SQL-like patterns in 's' parameter
- 404 errors for admin-shortcode-list.php with suspicious parameters
Network Indicators:
- HTTP GET requests containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, etc.) in query string
- Requests to /wp-content/plugins/timeline-designer/admin/assets/admin-shortcode-list.php
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="*admin-shortcode-list.php*" AND query="*s=*SELECT*" OR query="*s=*UNION*"