Ajax Load MoreWordPress extension · Connekthq
CVE-2021-24140
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 · uneditedUnvalidated input in the Ajax Load More WordPress plugin, versions before 5.3.2, lead to SQL Injection in POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with param repeater=' or sleep(5)#&type=test.
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 confidenceSQL injection vulnerability in the Ajax Load More WordPress plugin (versions before 5.3.2) allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands via the 'repeater' parameter in POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php. The vulnerability stems from unvalidated input being directly used in database queries without proper sanitization or parameterized queries.
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
Ajax Load MoreWordPress extension
< 5.3.2CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Ajax Load More plugin versionNavigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins > Look for 'Ajax Load More' under the plugin name. The version number is displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, check the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/ajax-load-more/ajax-load-more.php for the 'Version' comment tag.Affected if The displayed version is lower than 5.3.2 (e.g., 5.3.1, 5.3.0, etc.) or no version is displayed (indicating an old installation).
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Verify plugin is activeIn WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, confirm that the 'Ajax Load More' plugin shows as 'Active' under its name.Affected if The plugin is active and the version is below 5.3.2.
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Confirm admin-ajax.php is accessibleThe endpoint /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php is standard in WordPress and accessible by default. Check your web server logs or firewall rules to confirm external POST requests to this endpoint are not blocked.Affected if The endpoint is reachable and the vulnerable plugin version is active.
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Identify if repeater functionality is in useReview your WordPress pages, posts, or custom post types for shortcodes like [ajax_load_more] or PHP calls to alm_shortcode(). Also check any custom repeater templates in /wp-content/uploads/ajax-load-more/repeaters/.Affected if The plugin is active with a vulnerable version and the Ajax Load More shortcode or function is present on any accessible page.
You are affected if the Ajax Load More plugin is active at a version lower than 5.3.2 and the admin-ajax.php endpoint is accessible, allowing the 'repeater' parameter to be manipulated via SQL injection.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data5.3.2
Update Ajax Load More plugin to version 5.3.2 or later which includes input validation and prepared statements. Until patched, restrict access to admin-ajax.php or disable the plugin if update is not possible.
Fix this in Ajax Load More
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-24140 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-24140 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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