dbcve.org
Media Library AssistantWordPress extension · Davidlingren

CVE-2020-11928

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.82 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the media-library-assistant plugin before 2.82 for WordPress, Remote Code Execution can occur via the tax_query, meta_query, or date_query parameter in mla_gallery via an admin.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The media-library-assistant WordPress plugin before version 2.82 allows authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary code via the mla_gallery shortcode by injecting malicious payloads into the tax_query, meta_query, or date_query parameters. These query parameters are not properly sanitized before being processed, allowing attackers with admin-level access to leverage WordPress query functionality for code execution.

MitigationUpdate the media-library-assistant plugin to version 2.82 or later. Until patched, limit admin access to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious shortcode usage.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Media Library AssistantWordPress extension
Affected:< 2.82

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify media-library-assistant plugin is installed
    Access your WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, or inspect the wp-content/plugins/ directory for the media-library-assistant folder.
    Affected if The media-library-assistant plugin folder exists in the WordPress plugins directory.
  2. Check the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and find Media Library Assistant. The version number is displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin PHP file for the Version header comment.
    Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 2.82.
  3. Identify mla_gallery shortcode usage
    Search your WordPress database or content files (posts, pages, custom post types) for occurrences of the [mla_gallery] shortcode. Use WP-CLI: wp post list --post_type=any --format=ids | xargs -I {} wp post get {} --format=json | grep -o 'mla_gallery' or a plugin like Search Regex.
    Affected if Any post, page, or custom post type content contains the [mla_gallery] shortcode.
  4. Inspect shortcode parameters for injection points
    Examine any [mla_gallery] shortcode instances found. Look specifically for the presence of tax_query, meta_query, or date_query parameters in the shortcode. Review the shortcode content in posts/pages or the database wp_posts table.
    Affected if Any mla_gallery shortcode includes tax_query, meta_query, or date_query parameters with suspicious or encoded content.

Your environment is affected if the media-library-assistant plugin version is below 2.82 AND the mla_gallery shortcode with potentially malicious query parameters is present in your content.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.82 or later
Fixed in 2.82
Interim mitigation

Update the media-library-assistant plugin to version 2.82 or later. Until patched, limit admin access to trusted personnel only and monitor for suspicious shortcode usage.

Recommended fix High confidence

2.82

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find 'Media Library Assistant' in the plugin list
  4. If the current version is below 2.82, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version
  5. Alternatively, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin if a manual update is needed
  6. After update, verify the installed version is 2.82 or later

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Media Library Assistant Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-11928 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data