Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress plugin called Custom Searchable Data Entry System has a flaw that lets anyone on the internet erase database tables, including the table that stores user accounts. No login is required. Wordfence reported active attacks against this plugin as a zero-day in 2020, so any site still running it should treat this as an emergency.
Executive priority
Treat as emergency for any site confirmed to use this plugin: a single anonymous request can wipe user accounts and take the site offline. For sites that do not use this plugin, no action is required beyond confirming it is absent.
Technical view
Versions up to and including 1.7.1 of the Custom Searchable Data Entry System plugin expose ghazale_sds_delete_entries_table_row() without a capability check or sufficient validation (CWE-862, Missing Authorization). An unauthenticated remote attacker can invoke the function over the network to drop arbitrary database tables such as wp_users. CVSS 3.1 is 9.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H), reflecting high integrity and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Limited to WordPress sites that have the Custom Searchable Data Entry System plugin installed and reachable from the internet. The plugin appears to be a niche component, but any installed and unpatched instance is fully exposed because no authentication or user interaction is required.
Exploitation context
Wordfence published a 2020 advisory describing active exploitation as a zero-day at the time of disclosure. The CVE itself is not currently listed in CISA KEV. Given the attack is unauthenticated, network-reachable, and trivially destructive, opportunistic mass scanning against affected sites should be assumed.
Researcher notes
Root cause is a missing capability check (CWE-862) in ghazale_sds_delete_entries_table_row(). The sources do not name a fixed version, so verify vendor status before recommending an upgrade path. Wordfence flagged active in-the-wild exploitation in March 2020. CVE entry was published in 2025 with a recent April 2026 update; no KEV listing as of this writing.
Mitigation direction
- Identify any WordPress instance running Custom Searchable Data Entry System version 1.7.1 or earlier.
- Deactivate and remove the plugin if no patched version is confirmed by the vendor.
- Consult Wordfence and the vendor advisory for current patch availability before reinstalling.
- Place affected sites behind a WAF rule blocking calls to the vulnerable AJAX action.
- Ensure recent, tested database backups exist and are stored offline.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress plugins across all hosted sites and flag the affected plugin and version.
- Review web server and WordPress logs for requests invoking ghazale_sds_delete_entries_table_row.
- Verify integrity of wp_users and other core tables; restore from backup if tampering is detected.
- Confirm WAF or hosting-layer rules block unauthenticated calls to the vulnerable endpoint.
- Re-check Wordfence advisory for an official patched release before re-enabling the plugin.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-36852 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H3.95.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.