dbcve.org
SQL InjectionWeakness · CWE-89

CVE-2026-9059

CRITICAL · 9.3 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-05-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
99/100
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
NextGEN Gallery version prior to 4.2.1 are vulnerable to authenticated SQL injection via the 'orderby' parameter on the REST API endpoints '/imagely/v1/galleries' and '/imagely/v1/albums'. The root cause is an insufficient sanitization function ('_clean_column()') in the data mapper layer that uses a character blacklist instead of a whitelist approach. This allows an authenticated attacker with the 'NextGEN Gallery overview' capability (assigned to the Administrator role by default) to inject arbitrary SQL into the 'ORDER BY' clause.

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

NextGEN Gallery versions before 4.2.1 contain an authenticated SQL injection vulnerability in the REST API endpoints '/imagely/v1/galleries' and '/imagely/v1/albums'. The 'orderby' parameter is passed through an insufficient sanitization function ('_clean_column()') that uses a character blacklist rather than a whitelist, allowing an authenticated attacker with Administrator-level 'NextGEN Gallery overview' capability to inject arbitrary SQL into the ORDER BY clause.

MitigationUpgrade to NextGEN Gallery version 4.2.1 or later which implements proper whitelist-based sanitization in the '_clean_column()' function. Until patched, restrict the 'NextGEN Gallery overview' capability to only trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious API requests.

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

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
High
Authentication
X
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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. Identify if NextGEN Gallery plugin is installed
    Check your WordPress plugins directory or admin panel for 'NextGEN Gallery' or 'imagely' plugin presence
    Affected if Plugin is not found in the installation
  2. Determine the installed version of NextGEN Gallery
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > NextGEN Gallery, or inspect the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/ folder for the 'Version' field
    Affected if Version field is missing or cannot be retrieved
  3. Compare installed version to the affected range
    Compare the retrieved version number to 4.2.1; versions prior to 4.2.1 are affected (e.g., 4.2.0, 4.1.x, 4.0.x, 3.x)
    Affected if Installed version is less than 4.2.1 (e.g., 4.2.0 or earlier)
  4. Verify REST API endpoints are accessible
    Attempt a GET request to /wp-json/imagely/v1/galleries or /wp-json/imagely/v1/albums using a tool like curl or browser DevTools; check for HTTP 200 response rather than 404
    Affected if Endpoints return 200 OK and accept parameters
  5. Confirm Administrator role users exist
    Check WordPress users admin panel for any user with Administrator role, or query the wp_users and wp_usermeta tables for capability 'level_10' or 'manage_options'
    Affected if At least one Administrator-level user account exists in WordPress

Your environment is affected if NextGEN Gallery plugin is installed with a version prior to 4.2.1, the REST API endpoints are accessible, and an Administrator user account exists.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to NextGEN Gallery version 4.2.1 or later which implements proper whitelist-based sanitization in the '_clean_column()' function. Until patched, restrict the 'NextGEN Gallery overview' capability to only trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious API requests.

Recommended fix High confidence

NextGEN Gallery 4.2.1 or later

  1. 1. Backup your WordPress site and database before making any changes.
  2. 2. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard.
  3. 3. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  4. 4. Find NextGEN Gallery in the plugin list.
  5. 5. If an update to version 4.2.1 or later is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade the plugin.
  6. 6. Alternatively, download NextGEN Gallery version 4.2.1 or later from the official WordPress plugin repository and upload it manually via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  7. 7. After upgrading, verify the plugin version shows 4.2.1 or higher in the installed plugins list.
  8. 8. Test that the REST API endpoints '/imagely/v1/galleries' and '/imagely/v1/albums' function correctly with valid 'orderby' parameters.
Caveat None documented in the provided description

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2026-9059 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