Description

The paymendo WordPress plugin through 1.1 does not properly sanitize and escape a parameter before using it in a SQL query, allowing unauthenticated users to perform blind SQL injection attacks.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-11T07:17:28.980Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-11T07:17:28.980Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The Paymendo WordPress plugin, in versions up to and including 1.1, contains a critical security vulnerability involving improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command (SQL Injection).\nThis vulnerability allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary SQL queries against the underlying WordPress database.\nThe flaw stems from the insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied input before it is incorporated into database queries.\nSuccessful exploitation enables unauthorized data access, potentially resulting in the compromise of sensitive information, such as user credentials, plugin configurations, or other stored data.\nThe attack requires no prior authentication, significantly lowering the barrier to exploitation and increasing the risk profile for organizations utilizing this plugin.\nGiven the nature of SQL injection, this vulnerability poses a severe threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress installation.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability in the Paymendo plugin (through version 1.1) is the failure to implement adequate input validation and secure database query construction techniques.\nSpecifically, a parameter accepted by the plugin is directly concatenated into a SQL statement without passing through proper sanitization functions, such as sanitize_text_field(), or using parameterized queries (prepared statements).\nThis improper handling allows an attacker to manipulate the structure of the intended SQL query by injecting malicious SQL syntax.\nBecause the vulnerability is reachable without authentication, the attack vector is exposed to the public internet.\nThe exploitation method involves a blind SQL injection attack, where the attacker does not receive the results of the query directly in the application's response.\nInstead, the attacker can infer information about the database structure and data by observing the application's response behavior (e.g., timing differences or boolean-based response changes) to varying injected inputs.\nThe step-by-step attack flow typically proceeds as follows:\n1. The attacker identifies the vulnerable input parameter within the plugin's functionality that interacts with the database.\n2. The attacker crafts a malicious payload containing SQL operators and functions designed to elicit a predictable response from the application based on true/false conditions.\n3. This payload is transmitted to the server via an HTTP request.\n4. The backend, lacking proper sanitization, executes the modified query.\n5. The attacker observes the application's response (or lack thereof) to determine the truth of the injected condition, enabling the iterative extraction of database content.\nPost-exploitation, an attacker can leverage this access to perform data exfiltration, bypass authentication mechanisms by altering user tables, or manipulate plugin configurations to facilitate further system compromise.\nAs the application utilizes a database user with sufficient privileges to interact with tables holding critical application data, the potential impact is high."
}