dbcve.org
Paid Memberships ProWordPress extension · Strangerstudios

CVE-2021-20678

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.5.6 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
SQL injection vulnerability in the Paid Memberships Pro versions prior to 2.5.6 allows remote authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors.

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 · moderate confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in the Paid Memberships Pro WordPress plugin allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands through unspecified vectors. The flaw exists in versions prior to 2.5.6 and requires valid user authentication to exploit.

MitigationUpgrade to Paid Memberships Pro version 2.5.6 or later. As a temporary workaround, restrict user access permissions and monitor for suspicious database query patterns.

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
Paid Memberships ProWordPress extension
Affected:< 2.5.6

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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. Confirm Paid Memberships Pro is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Paid Memberships Pro' by Strangerstudios in the list. Alternatively, check the plugins directory for the pmpro folder.
    Affected if The plugin is not found in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate the Paid Memberships Pro entry. The version number is displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin file header in wp-content/plugins/pmpro/readme.txt or pmpro.php for the 'Version' field.
    Affected if The displayed version number is less than 2.5.6
  3. Verify user authentication is possible
    Check if any user accounts exist in the WordPress installation by accessing Users > All Users in the admin panel, or by querying the wp_users database table. Also verify if user registration is enabled in Settings > General > Membership.
    Affected if At least one valid user account exists or user registration is enabled, allowing authentication to the plugin
  4. Check for unusual database query patterns
    Review WordPress debug logs (wp-content/debug.log if logging is enabled) and database logs for SQL syntax errors or unexpected queries originating from Paid Memberships Pro files. Use SHOW PROCESSLIST or slow query log in MySQL to monitor active queries.
    Affected if SQL injection payloads or abnormal SQL patterns are observed in logs originating from pmpro components

A user is affected if Paid Memberships Pro version is below 2.5.6 AND the plugin is installed AND at least one user account can authenticate to the WordPress site.

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 2.5.6 or later
Fixed in 2.5.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Paid Memberships Pro version 2.5.6 or later. As a temporary workaround, restrict user access permissions and monitor for suspicious database query patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

Paid Memberships Pro version 2.5.6 or later

  1. 1. Create a complete backup of your WordPress database and files before making any changes
  2. 2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
  3. 3. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  4. 4. Find Paid Memberships Pro in the plugin list
  5. 5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to version 2.5.6 or later
  6. 6. Alternatively, download Paid Memberships Pro version 2.5.6 or later from the official WordPress plugin repository (wordpress.org/plugins/paid-memberships-pro/) and upload it manually via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  7. 7. After updating, verify the version number matches 2.5.6 or higher in Plugins > Installed Plugins
  8. 8. Test critical membership functions (registration, checkout, member access) to ensure the update did not break functionality
Caveat Review plugin settings and test membership flows after upgrade, as minor version updates may include functionality changes

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

Fix this in Paid Memberships Pro 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.

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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-2021-20678 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