CVE-2024-2879
📋 TL;DR
The LayerSlider WordPress plugin contains an SQL injection vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries. This can lead to sensitive database information disclosure, including user credentials and site data. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of LayerSlider are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- LayerSlider WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Layerslider by Kreaturamedia
Layerslider by Kreaturamedia
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise including admin credential theft, data exfiltration, and potential site takeover via privilege escalation.
Likely Case
Unauthenticated attackers extract sensitive data like user emails, hashed passwords, and site configuration information.
If Mitigated
Attack attempts are logged but blocked by proper input validation and query parameterization.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection via ls_get_popup_markup action requires no authentication and has public proof-of-concept available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 7.10.1
Vendor Advisory: https://layerslider.com/release-log/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find LayerSlider and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify version is 7.10.1 or later.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable LayerSlider Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patching is possible.
wp plugin deactivate LayerSlider
Web Application Firewall Rule
allBlock requests to the vulnerable endpoint using WAF rules.
Block POST requests containing 'action=ls_get_popup_markup'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and parameterized queries at application level
- Deploy web application firewall with SQL injection protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → LayerSlider version. If version is 7.9.11 or 7.10.0, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=LayerSlider --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm LayerSlider version is 7.10.1 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=ls_get_popup_markup containing SQL keywords
- Unusual database query patterns from WordPress application
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with SQL injection payloads in POST parameters
- Multiple rapid requests to admin-ajax.php endpoint
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND post_data="*action=ls_get_popup_markup*" AND (post_data="*UNION*" OR post_data="*SELECT*" OR post_data="*FROM*" OR post_data="*WHERE*")