CVE-2026-92465

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-92465 is a Blind SQL Injection (CWE-89) vulnerability in the Themeum WP Mega Menu WordPress plugin affecting all versions up to and including 1.4.2. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, allowing a high-privileged attacker to inject crafted SQL payloads over the network and exfiltrate database contents via blind inference. With a CVSS base score of 7.6 (High severity) and no vendor patch currently available, organizations running the affected plugin remain at risk and must rely on compensating controls.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), which describes the failure to sanitize or parameterize user-supplied input before it is concatenated into an SQL statement. In the context of WP Mega Menu, the plugin exposes functionality (likely administrative configuration or menu management actions) that passes user-controlled input to a database query without adequate preparation, escaping, or type enforcement.

The specific variant here is Blind SQL Injection. Unlike classic in-band SQLi, blind SQLi does not return query results or database errors directly to the attacker. Instead, the attacker infers information by observing boolean (true/false) responses or time delays induced through injected conditional logic. Because no data is reflected, blind SQLi is typically exploited using time-based or boolean-based inference techniques, which are slower but highly reliable for extracting sensitive records one bit at a time.

Key characteristics per the CVSS v3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L):

• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N) — the vulnerable endpoint is reachable remotely; no local access is needed.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) — no special conditions or race windows are required.
• Privileges Required: High (PR:H) — the attacker must hold an authenticated account with elevated privileges (e.g., an administrative role within the WordPress context). This constraint caps exploitability but does not eliminate risk, particularly in multi-author or multi-admin deployments.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) — no victim action is needed once access is obtained.
• Scope: Changed (S:C) — successful exploitation can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component's security authority (e.g., the underlying database and the broader WordPress installation).
• Confidentiality: High (C:H) — significant data disclosure is possible.
• Integrity: None (I:N) — the vector does not indicate data modification.
• Availability: Low (A:L) — some degradation is possible (e.g., resource exhaustion from heavy blind queries).

Insufficient technical detail is available in the NVD description to identify specific vulnerable functions, parameter names, or SQL query construction paths within the plugin source. The analysis therefore remains at the vulnerability-class level: an unparameterized SQL query in a privileged plugin action that processes attacker-influenced input.

Exploitation Scenarios

No public PoC or exploit code is available; the attack chain below is inferred from the vulnerability class (Blind SQLi) and the metadata provided.

1. Reconnaissance / Target Identification. An attacker enumerates WordPress installations and fingerprints the WP Mega Menu plugin, for example by requesting known static asset paths under the plugin directory (e.g., wp-content/plugins/wp-mega-menu/) or via Shodan queries matching the plugin slug. Targets running plugin versions <= 1.4.2 are prioritized.

2. Precondition — Privileged Access. Because the vector specifies PR:H, the attacker must first possess an authenticated high-privilege account (e.g., an administrator). This could be obtained through credential theft, compromised insider access, password reuse, or prior exploitation of a separate flaw. This requirement reduces the population of opportunistic attackers but is meaningful in managed hosting, agency, or multi-admin environments.

3. Triggering the Flaw (Blind SQLi). Once authenticated, the attacker locates the plugin action that builds an SQL query from user-supplied input. The attacker submits crafted input containing SQL syntax that alters the logic of the underlying query. Because the injection is blind, the attacker does not see query output or error messages; instead they use boolean-based payloads (conditions that make the query return true vs. false, observable through differing application behavior) or time-based payloads (conditions that introduce measurable delays) to ask the database yes/no questions.

4. Data Extraction. By iterating boolean/time-based probes, the attacker reconstructs database contents bit-by-bit — for example, table names, column names, and sensitive values such as user credentials, authentication hashes, secret keys, and other records accessible to the database user. This process is slow but automated with standard SQLi tooling.

5. Post-Exploitation Impact. Extracted data may include WordPress user tables and configuration values, enabling credential cracking, lateral movement, or escalation to full site compromise. The Scope:Changed rating reflects that the impact extends beyond the plugin to the hosting database and broader application.

No public PoC available; attack chain is inferred from vulnerability class.

Impact Assessment

• Business Impact: Exposure of sensitive database records (user credentials, secrets, configuration data) can lead to account takeover, data breach notification obligations, and reputational damage. Because exploitation requires high privileges, the primary risk is to organizations where admin-level accounts are shared, weakly protected, or numerous.
• Affected Systems: Any WordPress installation running Themeum WP Mega Menu version <= 1.4.2. Because the affected version range is "from n/a through 1.4.2," all releases up to and including 1.4.2 are in scope.
• Blast Radius: CVSS Scope is Changed (S:C), meaning exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable plugin — notably the shared site database. Confidentiality impact is High (C:H), Availability is Low (A:L), and Integrity is None (I:N) per the vector, so the primary concern is data disclosure rather than data tampering or full outage.
• Exploitability Context: EPSS has not yet been scored by FIRST.org; no CISA KEV listing; no known exploit-in-the-wild evidence in the provided data. The CVSS base of 7.6 is High, but the PR:H precondition moderates real-world likelihood.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: WP Mega Menu Blind SQL Injection Attempt
id: 8f3c1a2e-5b7d-4c9a-9e21-6a1d0f4b7c33
status: experimental
description: Detects potential blind SQL injection attempts targeting the Themeum WP Mega Menu plugin (<= 1.4.2)
references:
  - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-92465
author: Valters IT Threat Intelligence
date: 2026/01/01
logsource:
  category: webserver
detection:
  selection_uri:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - 'wp-mega-menu'
  selection_sqli:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - 'SLEEP('
      - 'BENCHMARK('
      - 'IF('
      - 'AND 1=1'
      - 'AND 1=2'
      - 'WAITFOR DELAY'
      - 'UNION SELECT'
  condition: selection_uri and selection_sqli
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate administrative debugging or security scanning
level: high

YARA Rule

rule WP_Mega_Menu_SQLi_Indicators
{
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection indicator patterns associated with WP Mega Menu blind SQLi (CVE-2026-92465)"
        author = "Valters IT Threat Intelligence"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-92465"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        severity = "high"

    strings:
        $sqli1 = "SLEEP(" ascii nocase
        $sqli2 = "BENCHMARK(" ascii nocase
        $sqli3 = "WAITFOR DELAY" ascii nocase
        $sqli4 = "UNION SELECT" ascii nocase
        $sqli5 = "AND 1=1" ascii nocase
        $plugin = "wp-mega-menu" ascii nocase

    condition:
        $plugin and any of ($sqli*)
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-92465 WP Mega Menu Blind SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"wp-mega-menu"; nocase; http.uri; content:"SLEEP("; nocase; http.uri; content:"BENCHMARK("; nocase; http.uri; content:"WAITFOR DELAY"; nocase; http.uri; content:"UNION SELECT"; nocase; classtype:web-application-attack; reference:cve,2026-92465; sid:202692465; rev:1;)

Elastic Detection

sequence by source.ip with maxspan=30s
  [http where url.path contains "wp-mega-menu"]
  [http where url.query contains ("SLEEP(" or "BENCHMARK(" or "WAITFOR DELAY" or "UNION SELECT" or "AND 1=1")]

Splunk SPL Query

index=web sourcetype=access_combined
| eval uri_lower = lower(uri)
| where match(uri_lower, "wp-mega-menu")
| where match(uri_lower, "sleep\(|benchmark\(|waitfor\s+delay|union\s+select|and\s+1=1|and\s+1=2")
| stats count min(_time) as first_seen max(_time) as last_seen by src_ip, uri
| where count > 1
| sort - count

Note: Splunk SPL supports match() with regex. An alternative using search terms:

index=web sourcetype=access_combined uri="*wp-mega-menu*" ("SLEEP(" OR "BENCHMARK(" OR "WAITFOR DELAY" OR "UNION SELECT" OR "1=1")
| stats count by src_ip, uri, status
| where count > 1

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="web,wordpress,sqli,">
  <rule id="100465" level="12">
    <if_sid>31100</if_sid>
    <url>wp-mega-menu</url>
    <regex type="pcre2">(?i)(sleep\(|benchmark\(|waitfor\s+delay|union\s+select|and\s+1=1|and\s+1=2)</regex>
    <description>CVE-2026-92465: Possible blind SQL injection attempt against WP Mega Menu plugin</description>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
    <group>sqli,attack,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 (UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source).

1. Immediate Mitigations

   • Restrict administrative access: enforce least privilege, remove dormant/over-privileged accounts, and apply strong multi-factor authentication so the PR:H precondition is harder to meet.
   • Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection signatures and virtual patching for requests touching the WP Mega Menu plugin.
   • Monitor and rate-limit requests to plugin endpoints; blind SQLi typically requires many sequential probes, so volume-based anomalies are detectable.
   • Consider disabling or removing the WP Mega Menu plugin if it is not business-critical, until a patch is released.

2. Patch / Upgrade Steps

   • No vendor fix is available at this time. Monitor the Themeum WP Mega Menu plugin changelog and the WordPress plugin repository for a version exceeding 1.4.2 that remediates CVE-2026-92465.
   • Subscribe to NVD and vendor advisories to be alerted when a patched release appears; test and deploy promptly once available.

3. Long-Term Hardening

   • Adopt a vulnerability management program with continuous monitoring of installed WordPress plugins and their version ranges.
   • Enforce parameterized queries/prepared statements for any custom code interacting with the database.
   • Apply defense-in-depth: least privilege for database accounts, network segmentation, robust logging/alerting, and regular credential rotation.
   • Maintain staging environments to rapidly validate plugin updates before production rollout.

References

• NVD — CVE-2026-92465: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-92465
• CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/89.html
• Themeum WP Mega Menu (vendor/plugin page): https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-mega-menu/
• MITRE ATT&CK T1190 — Exploit Public-Facing Application: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/
• CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (no entry for this CVE as of latest data): https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

Threat actor campaigns / exploit-in-the-wild: No evidence of active exploitation, public PoC, or threat actor association is present in the provided data. EPSS has not yet been scored by FIRST.org; the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV.