CVE-2024-38795
📋 TL;DR
This SQL injection vulnerability in the ListingPro WordPress plugin allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands on affected websites. All WordPress sites running ListingPro versions up to 2.9.4 are vulnerable, potentially exposing database contents including user credentials and sensitive data.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress ListingPro Plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, privilege escalation, remote code execution, and full website takeover.
Likely Case
Unauthenticated attackers extracting sensitive data like user credentials, personal information, and administrative access.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation, parameterized queries, and web application firewall rules blocking SQL injection patterns.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection vulnerabilities are commonly weaponized, and this unauthenticated vulnerability makes exploitation trivial for attackers.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.9.5 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/listingpro-plugin/wordpress-listingpro-plugin-2-9-3-unauthenticated-sql-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find ListingPro plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, download version 2.9.5+ from vendor. 6. Deactivate old plugin. 7. Upload and activate new version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Web Application Firewall Rules
allImplement WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns targeting ListingPro endpoints.
# Example ModSecurity rule: SecRule ARGS "(?i)(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|--|#)" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection Attempt'
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
linuxDisable ListingPro plugin until patched version is available.
wp plugin deactivate listingpro-plugin
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and parameterized queries in custom code
- Deploy web application firewall with SQL injection protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > ListingPro version. If version is 2.9.4 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=listingpro --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm ListingPro plugin version is 2.9.5 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL error messages in web server logs
- Multiple failed login attempts from single IP
- Requests with SQL keywords in parameters
Network Indicators:
- Unusual database connection patterns
- Large data exfiltration from database server
SIEM Query:
source="web_server.log" AND ("SQL syntax" OR "union select" OR "sleep(") AND uri_path="/wp-content/plugins/listingpro/"