The WordPress Simple HTML Sitemap plugin, maintained by ashishajani, suffers from a critical SQL Injection vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-7385. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 3.1 due to insufficient escaping and lack of proper parameterization of the 'id' parameter in SQL queries. Specifically, the plugin fails to neutralize special SQL elements in user-supplied input, allowing an attacker with Administrator-level privileges to append arbitrary SQL commands to existing queries. This can enable extraction of sensitive data, unauthorized data modification, or even deletion within the WordPress database. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but does require authenticated access with high privileges, limiting exploitation to trusted users or compromised accounts. The CVSS v3.1 score of 9.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicates network exploitable with low attack complexity but requiring high privileges, no user interaction, and resulting in high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk to affected WordPress sites, especially those hosting sensitive or critical data. The lack of available patches at the time of publication necessitates immediate attention from site administrators.

This vulnerability can have severe consequences for organizations using the affected WordPress Simple HTML Sitemap plugin. An attacker with Administrator privileges can exploit the SQL Injection flaw to extract sensitive information such as user credentials, personal data, or configuration details from the database. They can also alter or delete data, potentially disrupting website functionality or causing data loss. The compromise of database integrity and confidentiality can lead to broader security breaches, including privilege escalation, persistent backdoors, or lateral movement within the hosting environment. Given WordPress's widespread use, especially in small to medium enterprises and content-driven websites, the impact can extend to brand reputation damage, regulatory non-compliance, and financial losses. The requirement for high privileges reduces the risk from external unauthenticated attackers but increases the threat from insider attacks or compromised administrator accounts.

1. Immediately update the WordPress Simple HTML Sitemap plugin to a patched version once available from the vendor. 2. Until a patch is released, restrict Administrator-level access strictly to trusted personnel and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious SQL injection patterns targeting the 'id' parameter in plugin requests. 4. Conduct regular audits of administrator accounts and monitor logs for unusual database query activity or privilege misuse. 5. Employ database activity monitoring tools to detect anomalous queries indicative of injection attempts. 6. Consider temporarily disabling or removing the plugin if it is not essential to reduce the attack surface. 7. Harden the WordPress environment by following best practices for plugin management, least privilege principles, and regular security assessments. 8. Backup databases frequently to enable recovery in case of data tampering or loss.