Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-4450 affects the WordPress Post Grid plugin through version 2.1.12. A logged-in user with Contributor-level access or higher could abuse weak database query handling to extract or alter sensitive WordPress database data. This is serious for sites that allow many content contributors.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on production WordPress sites with external contributors, contractors, or many content accounts. Treat this as high business risk where the plugin is present, because database exposure can affect customer data, site content integrity, and service availability.
Technical view
The issue is a blind SQL injection in Post Grid post metadata handling. The source describes insufficient escaping and missing prepared statements, allowing authenticated Contributor+ attackers to append SQL to existing queries. CVSS 3.1 is 8.8 high with low attack complexity and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Post Grid up to and including 2.1.12 with untrusted or compromised Contributor-level accounts or higher. Public unauthenticated exposure is not supported by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The vulnerability is still high risk because WordPress contributor accounts are commonly delegated, phished, or reused, and successful abuse can affect database confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports authenticated Contributor+ blind SQL injection in Post Grid through 2.1.12. The CVE affected-product metadata in the bundle is sparse, so rely on the narrative description and cited Wordfence and WordPress changeset references. No exploit-in-the-wild claim is supported here.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites using the Post Grid plugin.
- Update or replace Post Grid using vendor or WordPress plugin guidance.
- Disable the plugin if a fixed supported version cannot be confirmed.
- Restrict Contributor-level and higher accounts to trusted users only.
- Review and remove stale WordPress contributor accounts.
Validation and detection
- Check installed Post Grid versions against 2.1.12 and earlier.
- Confirm whether the vendor patch referenced by WordPress changeset 2644269 is deployed.
- Review WordPress users with Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator roles.
- Check security scanner findings from Wordfence or equivalent tooling.
- Review logs for suspicious plugin-related database errors or unusual authenticated activity.
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-89: Database access and collection lookup
Injection into data stores can inform collection, data access, and exfiltration detection reviews. 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-2021-4450 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
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.
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.