CVE-2022-0254 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) SQL Injection vulnerability in bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spam. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spam — see the affected versions and patch details below.
SQL Injection in WordPress Zero Spam WordPress plugin
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-0254 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spamReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The WordPress Zero Spam WordPress plugin before 5.2.13 does not properly sanitise and escape the order and orderby parameters before using them in a SQL statement in the admin dashboard, leading to a SQL injection
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spam | all versions | 5.2.13composer require bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spam:^5.2.13 |
Affected Products
zero-spamhighfiveryResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spam, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update bmarshall511/wordpress_zero_spam to 5.2.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-0254 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Until you can upgrade, make sure every query built from user input uses parameterised statements or a prepared-statement API rather than string concatenation, and reduce the database account's privileges so an injected query cannot read or alter data beyond what the feature needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-0254 in your dependencies?
Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.