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CVE-2026-3018 – Unauthenticated SQL Injection – Newsletters WordPress Plugin ≤ 4.13

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Summary

CVE-2026-3018 is a high-severity, unauthenticated time-based SQL Injection vulnerability in the Newsletters plugin for WordPress (by Tribulant Software), affecting all versions up to and including 4.13. The flaw exists in the wpmlsubscriber_id parameter of the newsletters_management shortcode and allows any unauthenticated remote attacker to extract sensitive data from the WordPress database. A patched version (4.14) has been released and immediate upgrade is strongly recommended.

Technical details

  • Root cause: Insufficient escaping of the user-supplied wpmlsubscriber_id parameter combined with the absence of prepared statements ($wpdb->prepare()) in the SQL query built by the newsletters_management shortcode handler.
  • Trigger condition: The vulnerable code path is reachable without authentication or user interaction; any HTTP request to an affected site that triggers the shortcode endpoint is sufficient.
  • Attack vector: Remote, network-based. CVSS Attack Vector is NETWORK, with no privileges required and no user interaction (AC:L / PR:N / UI:N).
  • Exploitation technique: Time-based blind SQL injection — an attacker appends malicious SQL clauses to the existing query and infers database contents through observable response timing.
  • Impact: Full database read access (Confidentiality: HIGH). Exploitable data includes subscriber records, user credentials, session tokens, PII, and any other data stored in the WordPress database. Integrity and availability are not directly affected (I:N / A:N).

Affected software

  • Newsletters plugin for WordPress (slug: newsletters-lite, vendor: Tribulant Software / contrid)
    • All versions up to and including 4.13
  • Version 4.14 resolves this vulnerability by implementing parameterized queries via $wpdb->prepare() in the newsletters_management shortcode, as well as in several other previously vulnerable SQL execution paths.

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 7.5 (HIGH)
  • Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate – Apply the vendor patch: Upgrade the Newsletters plugin to version 4.14 or later. The fix is available directly from the WordPress Plugin Repository and through the standard WordPress admin dashboard (Plugins > Updates).
  • If immediate patching is not possible: Restrict public access to any WordPress pages or posts that embed the [newsletters_management] shortcode at the network or WAF level until the plugin can be updated.
  • General hardening: Review and rotate any credentials or sensitive data stored in the affected WordPress database as a precautionary measure in case exploitation occurred prior to patching.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

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