dbcve.org
Participants DatabaseWordPress extension · Xnau

CVE-2020-8596

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.9.5.5 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
participants-database.php in the Participants Database plugin 1.9.5.5 and previous versions for WordPress has a time-based SQL injection vulnerability via the ascdesc, list_filter_count, or sortBy parameters. It is possible to exfiltrate data and potentially execute code (if certain conditions are met).

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 Participants Database WordPress plugin versions 1.9.5.5 and earlier contains a time-based SQL injection vulnerability in participants-database.php. Attackers can inject malicious SQL through the ascdesc, list_filter_count, or sortBy parameters, potentially allowing data exfiltration and code execution under favorable conditions.

MitigationUpdate the Participants Database plugin to a version that addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor for suspicious activity and consider restricting access to the affected plugin pages.

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
Participants DatabaseWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.9.5.5

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/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. Check installed plugin version
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins > Participants Database, or inspect the plugin header in wp-content/plugins/participants-database/participants-database.php for the 'Version' field
    Affected if The version listed is 1.9.5.5 or lower
  2. Verify plugin is active
    Check if the Participants Database plugin appears as 'Active' in the WordPress plugins list, or query wp_options table for option_name = 'active_plugins' containing 'participants-database'
    Affected if Plugin is active and accessible to unauthenticated or low-privilege users
  3. Confirm plugin handles the vulnerable parameters
    Inspect participants-database.php for the ascdesc, list_filter_count, and sortBy parameters being used in database queries without proper sanitization. Search for $_GET or $_REQUEST usage of these parameter names
    Affected if The plugin code directly uses these GET parameters in SQL queries without prepared statements or sanitization
  4. Check access to plugin shortcode pages
    Identify pages using the [pdb_list] shortcode or plugin list functionality. Visit these pages and inspect if the ascdesc, list_filter_count, or sortBy parameters are accepted in the URL
    Affected if The plugin list views are publicly accessible and accept these parameters via URL query strings
  5. Review access controls on admin pages
    Check the plugin settings in WordPress admin under Participants Database > List Settings to confirm public-facing list functionality is enabled without authentication requirements
    Affected if The plugin list and search functionality is exposed to unauthenticated users

You are affected if the Participants Database plugin version is 1.9.5.5 or earlier AND the plugin is active with its list/sort functionality accessible to users.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.9.5.5
Interim mitigation

Update the Participants Database plugin to a version that addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor for suspicious activity and consider restricting access to the affected plugin pages.

Fix this in Participants Database Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,800.

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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-2020-8596 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