CVE-2024-4742 – This SQL injection vulnerability in the Youzify... (How to Fix)

📋 TL;DR

This SQL injection vulnerability in the Youzify WordPress plugin allows authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious SQL queries through the order_by shortcode attribute. This can lead to unauthorized extraction of sensitive data from the database. All WordPress sites using Youzify plugin versions up to 1.2.5 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress

Versions: All versions up to and including 1.2.5

Operating Systems: All operating systems running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires authenticated user with at least Contributor role. WordPress sites with the plugin enabled are vulnerable.

📦 What is this software?

Youzify by Kainelabs

View all CVEs affecting Youzify →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete database compromise including extraction of user credentials, personal data, and administrative takeover of the WordPress site.

🟠

Likely Case

Extraction of sensitive user information, plugin/theme data, and potential privilege escalation.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper input validation and parameterized queries are implemented.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires authenticated access but uses simple SQL injection techniques. The vulnerability is well-documented in security advisories.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 1.2.6 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/youzify/trunk/includes/public/core/functions/youzify-account-verification-functions.php#L294

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel
2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Find Youzify plugin
4. Click 'Update Now' if available
5. If no update appears, download version 1.2.6+ from WordPress.org
6. Deactivate old version, upload new version, activate

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Youzify Plugin

all

Temporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched

wp plugin deactivate youzify

Restrict Contributor Access

all

Temporarily remove Contributor role permissions or restrict user registration

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block SQL injection patterns
Restrict database user permissions to read-only for application accounts

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Youzify version. If version is 1.2.5 or lower, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin get youzify --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

After update, verify Youzify plugin version shows 1.2.6 or higher in WordPress admin.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual SQL queries in WordPress debug logs
Multiple failed login attempts followed by SQL-like patterns in requests

Network Indicators:

HTTP POST requests containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, etc.) to WordPress endpoints

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("order_by" OR "youzify") AND ("UNION" OR "SELECT" OR "INSERT" OR "DELETE")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-4742

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-89

Published: June 20, 2024

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2024-4742, you might also want to check these: