Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessRegister or obtain WordPress Subscriber account
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DeliverySend crafted POST to admin-ajax.php with SQL payload
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ExploitAJAX handler processes request without authorization check
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ExecutionUnsanitized parameter injected into SQL query
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ImpactExtract or manipulate WordPress database contents
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Parameterized queries, prepared statements
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Persistence The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires any valid WordPress authenticated session at Subscriber level or higher - no special role, no admin access. The WP Directory Kit plugin must be installed, active, and running a version below 1.5.6. The vulnerable code path is an AJAX action handler reachable via WordPress's standard admin-ajax.php endpoint, which is accessible in all default WordPress deployments; no non-default server or plugin configuration is required. The primary limiting factor is authentication: the attacker must hold or obtain at least one account on the target site. Sites with open user registration (WordPress default on many installs) effectively reduce this to a near-unauthenticated condition, since registration is trivial. Sites that disable user registration and have no shared or leaked credentials are partially protected until patching occurs. |
| Impact | The NVD CVSS 8.1 score is well-calibrated: AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N reflects a network-exploitable, low-complexity flaw requiring only Subscriber-level access with no user interaction, which matches the technical description precisely. The EPSS of 16% is substantially above the median for WordPress plugin CVEs (typically under 1%), a signal amplified by the confirmed existence of a public POC via WPScan. The High Confidentiality and High Integrity impact (C:H/I:H) means both data exfiltration and data manipulation - including modification of WordPress user records or plugin content - are realistic outcomes. The absence of a CISA KEV listing means confirmed in-the-wild exploitation is not established at time of analysis; however, the combination of low privilege bar, public POC, and a WordPress plugin target means exploitation attempts should be anticipated. The key risk multiplier here is open user registration: any site allowing self-registration converts this from a low-privilege internal threat to a near-unauthenticated one in practice. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker registers a free Subscriber account on a WordPress site running WP Directory Kit before 1.5.6 - or leverages any pre-existing authenticated session - then sends a crafted HTTP POST to admin-ajax.php with a SQL payload embedded in the vulnerable parameter. Because the AJAX handler performs no authorization check, the request executes, and the injected SQL is processed directly by the database, enabling extraction of WordPress user credentials, email addresses, or any plugin-stored data. A publicly available POC via WPScan lowers the technical barrier substantially, making automated mass-scanning plausible. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 12, 2026
SQL injection in WP Directory Kit WordPress plugin (all versions before 1.5.6) allows any authenticated user - including low-privilege Subscribers - to query or manipulate the WordPress database via an AJAX endpoint that performs no input sanitization and enforces no authorization check. With a publicly available proof-of-concept reported by WPScan and an EPSS of 16%, the exploitation barrier is low for any site with user registration enabled. A vendor patch is available in version 1.5.6.
RemediationAI
Update WP Directory Kit to version 1.5.6 or later, which is the vendor-released patch addressing both the SQL injection and the missing authorization check. Full details are in the WPScan advisory at https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/15789d28-053d-427b-94f3-c43125e4fea6/ and the NVD entry at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18230. If immediate patching is not feasible, disabling WordPress open user registration (Settings > General, uncheck 'Anyone can register') eliminates the self-registration attack path, though existing low-privilege accounts remain a risk and legitimate directory functionality may be impaired. As a secondary compensating control, a WAF rule blocking AJAX requests containing SQL metacharacters to admin-ajax.php can reduce automated exploitation attempts, though it is not a substitute for patching.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
WP Directory Kit is a WordPress plugin for directory listing functionality. The vulnerability is a CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in SQL Queries) - user-controlled input is passed unsanitized directly into a SQL statement within one of the plugin's AJAX action handlers. Compounding the injection flaw, the handler also lacks a WordPress capability check (e.g., current_user_can()), meaning any holder of the default Subscriber role - the lowest authenticated role WordPress assigns - can trigger the vulnerable code path. The CPE identifier cpe:2.3:a:unknown:wp_directory_kit:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all affected releases prior to 1.5.6. The attack surface is WordPress's standard admin-ajax.php dispatcher, which is reachable by any authenticated session.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Network-reachable AJAX endpoint (AV:N), low complexity (AC:L), Subscriber-level auth required (PR:L), no UI needed; full DB read/write possible (C:H/I:H), no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (WPScan).
CVSS VectorVendor: WPScan
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
The WP Directory Kit WordPress plugin before 1.5.6 does not sanitise and escape a parameter before using it in a SQL statement through one of its authenticated AJAX actions, which lacks an authorization check, allowing any authenticated user such as a Subscriber to perform SQL injection attacks.
Executive ViewAI
The WP Directory Kit WordPress plugin (versions before 1.5.6) contains a SQL injection vulnerability with publicly available exploit code that enables any registered user-including low-privilege Subscribers-to directly query and modify the WordPress database. Organizations running this plugin with user registration enabled face immediate risk of unauthorized data access, manipulation, and theft. The widespread availability of exploit code significantly lowers the barrier to exploitation for any affected deployment.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
SQL injection exploits the way applications construct database queries by mixing user input directly into SQL statements.
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EUVD-2026-57098
GHSA-45m2-p8hx-pqw5
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB