Description

Contributor SQL Injection in Suggestion Engine for WooCommerce <= 2.0.11 versions.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-27T10:16:39.557Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-27T10:16:39.557Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The Suggestion Engine for WooCommerce plugin, specifically versions 2.0.11 and earlier, is susceptible to a SQL injection vulnerability. This flaw arises from the improper sanitization and handling of user-supplied data before incorporating it into database queries.\nThe vulnerability is classified as an authenticated SQL injection, meaning an attacker must possess at least Contributor-level access to the WordPress environment to successfully exploit the flaw. Successful exploitation allows a malicious actor to interfere with the queries that the application makes to its database, potentially leading to unauthorized data disclosure, unauthorized modification of data, or, in certain configurations, administrative access to the underlying database server.\nGiven that this vulnerability requires existing low-level privileges, it represents a significant escalation risk within the affected WooCommerce environment. The impact is critical due to the potential for complete compromise of the site's database, which likely contains sensitive customer and transaction information. The risk is compounded by the ease with which such an attack can be orchestrated once the attacker has authenticated with the system, making immediate patching or mitigation essential for maintaining the security and integrity of the e-commerce platform.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides within the Suggestion Engine for WooCommerce plugin (<= 2.0.11), specifically within the components responsible for processing search or suggestion requests. The root cause is the failure to adequately parameterize or escape input data, allowing it to manipulate the structure of the resulting SQL queries executed by the application.\nIn the context of the WordPress environment, this vulnerability is exploitable by authenticated users with the Contributor role or higher. The attack flow initiates when the attacker submits a specially crafted HTTP request targeting the plugin's suggestion functionality. This request includes malicious SQL fragments in parameters that the application inadvertently trusts.\nThe application processes this input through insecure backend functions that perform direct database queries using the vulnerable plugin code. Because the input is not processed through WordPress-native database abstraction layers (such as the $wpdb->prepare method) with proper placeholders, the malicious SQL is interpreted as part of the query execution logic.\nThe exploitation method relies on the attacker manipulating the WHERE or ORDER BY clauses of the backend SQL query. By injecting UNION-based or blind SQL injection payloads, an attacker can extract data from other tables within the WordPress database. This includes tables containing users, passwords, options, and plugin-specific data. The payload behavior involves the attacker chaining SQL keywords like UNION SELECT to append results from unauthorized tables into the query response, or using time-based blind injection techniques to exfiltrate data byte-by-byte if the direct output is not visible.\nThe scope of the impact post-exploitation includes, but is not limited to, the exposure of hashed administrator passwords, plugin configuration secrets, and customer order information. Furthermore, if the database configuration permits, an attacker might escalate their privileges by modifying the 'wp_users' or 'wp_usermeta' tables, effectively granting themselves administrative rights. This vulnerability essentially bypasses the application's intended access controls, turning an authorized low-privileged account into a vehicle for unauthorized data access and potential full system compromise."
}