CVE-2024-52451
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the WordPress Post Ideas plugin that can lead to SQL injection. Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious SQL queries by crafting deceptive requests. This affects WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of the Post Ideas plugin.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Post Ideas 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 allowing data theft, modification, or deletion, potentially leading to site takeover through privilege escalation.
Likely Case
Unauthorized database access leading to data exfiltration, content manipulation, or plugin/theme installation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper CSRF protections and database user privilege restrictions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick authenticated users but uses well-known CSRF and SQL injection techniques.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.0.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/post-ideas/wordpress-post-ideas-plugin-2-csrf-to-sql-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Post Ideas' and click 'Update Now' if available. 4. If no update appears, download version 2.0.1+ from WordPress.org and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Post Ideas Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate post-ideas
Implement CSRF Protection
allAdd WordPress nonce verification to plugin files if custom patching is possible.
Add wp_verify_nonce() checks to plugin PHP files
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict database user permissions to SELECT only for the plugin's database user.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block SQL injection patterns and CSRF attempts.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Post Ideas version 2.0 or earlier.Check Version:
wp plugin get post-ideas --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Post Ideas plugin version is 2.0.1 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple failed CSRF token validations in WordPress debug logs
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with SQL patterns without proper referrer headers
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "post-ideas" AND ("SQL" OR "database error")