WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems, facilitating easy blog and website setup. Extensions, such as plugins and themes, are often used to enhance its functionality. WordPress ARMember Premium is a plugin designed to manage membership systems efficiently, enabling site owners to create membership levels, restrict content, and manage user profiles effortlessly. It is designed to be user-friendly, serving businesses and communities that require gated content. This plugin is often used by membership-focused sites seeking to implement tiered content access. With comprehensive customization options, it remains favored by developers seeking a flexible solution to membership needs.
SQL Injection is a common vulnerability allowing attackers to interfere with the queries that an application sends to its database, potentially leading to unauthorized viewing of data. In the context of WordPress ARMember Premium, SQL Injection is exploitable through insufficient escaping and lack of prepared statements. The vulnerability is particularly located in the `arm_get_directory_members()` function, which interacts with user-supplied parameters that aren't properly sanitized. Attackers can construct queries to manipulate this function, injecting malicious SQL that can compromise database integrity. Such vulnerabilities can pose significant risks, allowing attackers to extract, modify, or delete vital database information.
The problematic endpoints involve specific AJAX actions identified in ARMember Premium that handle user input through the 'order' parameter. Improper input sanitization in this endpoint allows attackers to append dangerous SQL commands. Exploiting parameter-driven database query constructions, attackers can introduce sleep functions within SQL execution to indicate vulnerability through response delay, a common tactic in time-based SQLi testing. Extended wait times in database responses often indicate the presence of such injection points. The lack of adequate query preparations heightens the ease with which this vulnerability can be abused.
When successfully exploited, SQL Injection vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins can lead to severe consequences including unauthorized data access and data modification. Attackers can extract sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and other personal data stored within the application's database. Moreover, database integrity may be compromised, potentially resulting in unauthorized data alteration or complete service disruption. Successful SQLi attacks can lead to loss of customer trust, legal challenges, and financial penalties, particularly when involving data breaches of personal information.
REFERENCES
- https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/armember/vulnerability/wordpress-armember-premium-membership-plugin-content-restriction-member-levels-user-profile-user-signup-plugin-7-3-1-unauthenticated-sql-injection-vulnerability
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/b5f6d2a2-ad3e-4afc-b6fd-745881d85b6b
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-5073
- https://codecanyon.net/item/armember-complete-wordpress-membership-system/17785056
- Update the ARMember Premium plugin to version 7.3.2 or later to address the SQL injection vulnerability.
- Implement parameterized queries in the application to prevent SQL injection attacks.
- Regularly review and monitor application logs to detect any suspicious activities.
- Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in web applications.
- Limit the database privileges of the application's database user to minimize potential damage from SQL injections.
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