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CVE-2024-13507: Time-Based SQL Injection Vulnerability in GeoDirectory and Classified Listings Directory WordPress Plugins

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Overview

The GeoDirectory and Classified Listings Directory plugins for WordPress have been found to contain a time-based SQL injection vulnerability. This vulnerability, assigned the identifier CVE-2024-13507, affects all versions of the plugins up to and including 2.8.97. Due to the nature of this vulnerability, unauthenticated attackers could extract sensitive information from the database, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage. This report serves to provide a detailed overview of the vulnerability, its impact, and mitigation guidance.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2024-13507
Severity: High (7.5 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System Compromise, Data Leakage

Affected Products

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Product | Affected Versions

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin | Up to and including 2.8.97
Classified Listings Directory Plugin for WordPress | Up to and including 2.8.97

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability lies in the handling of the ‘dist’ parameter within the plugins. Due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query, an attacker can manipulate the ‘dist’ parameter to append additional SQL queries to the existing ones. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to extract sensitive information from the database.

Conceptual Example Code

Below is a
conceptual
example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This could be a sample HTTP GET request, where the ‘dist’ parameter is manipulated to execute a malicious SQL query.

GET /vulnerable_page.php?dist=1' UNION ALL SELECT null,@@version-- HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com

In this example, the “dist” parameter is manipulated to execute a UNION SQL command, retrieving database version information. In a real attack, the SQL query could be customized to retrieve more sensitive information or even manipulate the database.

Mitigation Guidance

To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended that users update their GeoDirectory and Classified Listings Directory WordPress plugins to the latest version. If an update is not immediately possible, the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) may provide temporary mitigation by identifying and blocking malicious SQL injection attempts.

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Disclaimer:

The information and code presented in this article are provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity purposes only. Any conceptual or pseudocode examples are simplified representations intended to raise awareness and promote secure development and system configuration practices.

Do not use this information to attempt unauthorized access or exploit vulnerabilities on systems that you do not own or have explicit permission to test.

Ameeba and its authors do not endorse or condone malicious behavior and are not responsible for misuse of the content. Always follow ethical hacking guidelines, responsible disclosure practices, and local laws.

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