CVE-2024-22157
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2024-22157 is an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability in the SalesKing WordPress plugin. Attackers can exploit this to gain administrative privileges without authentication. All WordPress sites running SalesKing plugin versions up to 1.6.15 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- SalesKing WordPress 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 site takeover with attacker gaining full administrative control, allowing data theft, malware injection, defacement, and backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Unauthorized administrative access leading to data compromise, plugin/theme manipulation, and potential lateral movement within the hosting environment.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation, web application firewalls, and least privilege principles are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires no authentication and minimal technical skill based on public disclosures.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.6.16 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/salesking/wordpress-salesking-plugin-1-6-15-unauthenticated-privilege-escalation-vulnerability
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find SalesKing plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update appears, manually download version 1.6.16+ from WordPress.org and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable SalesKing Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patching is possible.
wp plugin deactivate salesking
Web Application Firewall Rule
allBlock requests to SalesKing plugin endpoints.
# Add WAF rule to block /wp-content/plugins/salesking/ paths
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove SalesKing plugin completely from the WordPress installation
- Implement strict network access controls to limit access to WordPress admin interface
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for SalesKing version. If version is 1.6.15 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get salesking --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify SalesKing plugin version is 1.6.16 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual admin user creation/modification
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful admin access from new IP
- POST requests to /wp-content/plugins/salesking/ endpoints
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to SalesKing plugin paths from unexpected sources
- Sudden admin-level activity from previously unknown users
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("salesking" OR "admin_user") AND ("created" OR "modified" OR "elevated")🔗 References
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/salesking/wordpress-salesking-plugin-1-6-15-unauthenticated-privilege-escalation-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/salesking/wordpress-salesking-plugin-1-6-15-unauthenticated-privilege-escalation-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
