CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2022-21664 — WordPress is a free and open-source content management system written in PHP and paired with a MariaDB database

High CVSS 8.8

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system written in PHP and paired with a MariaDB database. Due to lack of proper sanitization in one of the classes, there's potential for unintended SQL queries to be executed. This has been patched in WordPress version 5.8.3. Older affected versions are also fixed via security release, that go back till 4.1.34. We strongly recommend that you keep auto-updates enabled. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Published
2022-01-06
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
php/wordpress
Weaknesses
CWE-89

Affected products

  • wordpress / wordpress
  • debian / debian_linux / 9.0
  • debian / debian_linux / 10.0
  • debian / debian_linux / 11.0
  • fedoraproject / fedora / 34
  • fedoraproject / fedora / 35

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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