# CVE-2020-5579: SQL injection in Paid Memberships

> Administrators can execute arbitrary SQL commands in the Paid Memberships plugin, potentially compromising database integrity and confidentiality.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 May 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-35h4-gw83-rq54

## What is CVE-2020-5579?

CVE-2020-5579 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in Stranger Studios Paid Memberships, published on 20 May 2020. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

SQL injection vulnerability in the Paid Memberships versions prior to 2.3.3 allows attacker with administrator rights to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5579?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Strangerstudios Paid Memberships Pro.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5579?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-5579 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-5579 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5579 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Stranger Studios Paid Memberships

- [CVE-2023-23488](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23488/): SQL injection in Paid Memberships Pro WordPress Plugin (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-25114](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25114/): Paid Memberships Pro < 2.6.7 - Unauthenticated Blind SQL Injection (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-0631](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0631/): Paid Memberships Pro < 2.9.12 - Subscriber+ SQL Injection (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-20678](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20678/): SQL injection in Paid Memberships Pro (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-37486](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-37486/): WordPress Paid Memberships Pro plugin <= 3.0.5 - Authenticated SQL Injection vulnerability (high 7.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5579 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5579 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in Stranger Studios Paid Memberships, published on 20 May 2020. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5579 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Stranger Studios Paid Memberships. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5579/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5579/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5579
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5579
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5579

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5579/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
