CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-24295 — Cleantalk Spam Protection, Antispam, Firewall security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.5

It was possible to exploit an Unauthenticated Time-Based Blind SQL Injection vulnerability in the Spam protection, AntiSpam, FireWall by CleanTalk WordPress Plugin before 5.153.4. The update_log function in lib/Cleantalk/ApbctWP/Firewall/SFW.php included a vulnerable query that could be injected via the User-Agent Header by manipulating the cookies set by the Spam protection, AntiSpam, FireWall by CleanTalk WordPress plugin before 5.153.4, sending an initial request to obtain a ct_sfw_pass_key cookie and then manually setting a separate ct_sfw_passed cookie and disallowing it from being reset.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.1)
Published
2021-05-17
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
php/wordpress
Weaknesses
CWE-89

Affected products

  • cleantalk / spam_protection,_antispam,_firewall

Matched remediation archetype

SQL and data-query injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace request, message, file, and stored values into SQL, ORM query fragments, filters, sort expressions, and other data-query languages.
  • Inventory database roles, reachable schemas, multi-tenant boundaries, and whether stacked or administrative operations are enabled.
  • Check both direct queries and second-order use of previously stored values.

Remediate safely

  • Use parameterized queries or safe query builders for all values; map identifiers and operators through explicit allowlists.
  • Remove raw query concatenation and give the application account only the tables and operations it requires.
  • Update affected data-access components and add regression tests for query structure preservation with inert edge-case inputs.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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