Plugin Name	Eagle Booking
Type of Vulnerability	SQL Injection
CVE Number	CVE-2026-27428
Urgency	High
CVE Publish Date	2026-02-25
Source URL	CVE-2026-27428

Urgent: SQL Injection in Eagle Booking plugin (<= 1.3.4.3) — What WordPress Site Owners Must Do Now

A new SQL injection vulnerability (CVE-2026-27428) has been disclosed in the Eagle Booking WordPress plugin affecting versions up to and including 1.3.4.3. This is a high-severity issue (CVSS 8.5) that allows an attacker with only a low-level privilege (subscriber) to manipulate database queries. For websites using Eagle Booking to manage reservations and guest data, the potential impact is severe: data exposure, database modification, unauthorized account creation or promotion, and in many cases the stepping stone to full site takeover.

We are WP-Firewall — a dedicated WordPress security team and WAF provider. In this article I’ll walk you through:

• A clear, non-technical synopsis of the vulnerability
• The real-world risks to your website and data
• What to do right now (immediate mitigations)
• Practical detection and investigation steps
• How to rebuild and harden after an event
• How our managed firewall and virtual patching help protect you while official patches are released

This guide is written for site owners, developers, and security-conscious administrators who need fast, practical actions they can implement today.

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Quick summary: what happened

• Software affected: Eagle Booking WordPress plugin
• Vulnerable versions: all releases up to and including 1.3.4.3
• Type: SQL Injection
• CVE: CVE-2026-27428
• CVSS score: 8.5 (high)
• Privilege required: Subscriber (very low privilege)
• Official patch: at the time of writing there is no vendor-published patch for all affected versions

Why this matters: SQL injection vulnerabilities let attackers manipulate database queries. Even a user account with subscriber privileges can abuse an application endpoint that fails to sanitize or parameterize input to execute arbitrary SQL fragments. That can lead to reading sensitive data (user emails, hashed passwords, booking details), inserting or modifying rows (create new admin users or change options), or deleting data.

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Why the vulnerability is particularly dangerous for booking systems

Booking plugins store business-critical and user-sensitive information — reservation dates, names, contacts, payment references, and sometimes personally identifiable information. Attackers targeting booking systems can:

• Exfiltrate customer data for fraud or phishing
• Tamper with reservations and availability to disrupt service
• Create privileged accounts to persist access
• Inject malicious JavaScript into booking confirmations that affect visitors
• Escalate to full site compromise, including deploying backdoors or ransomware

Because many booking sites integrate with e-mail, payments, and calendar services, a compromise has cascading effects — reputational damage, compliance breaches (e.g., GDPR, PCI concerns if payment metadata is stored improperly), and revenue loss.

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How attackers typically exploit SQL injection in WordPress plugins

Attackers follow a few predictable steps:

1. Automated discovery: scanners and bots crawl plugin endpoints and identify patterns (AJAX endpoints, REST API routes, form parameters).
2. Fuzzing & payloads: they send specially crafted input containing SQL meta-characters or keywords to see if the app reflects errors or returns data it shouldn’t.
3. Exfiltration techniques: blind SQLi techniques are often used when direct output is not available; these include timing-based checks, boolean responses, or encoded error messages.
4. Follow-up actions: once data access is confirmed, attackers either exfiltrate data slowly or chain the SQLi to create a new admin user or modify site settings to drop a webshell.

This specific vulnerability is judged high-risk because the required account privileges are low (subscriber) — meaning anyone with a registration-enabled site or compromised subscriber account could trigger it.

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Immediate actions (what to do right now — prioritized list)

If you run Eagle Booking on a site, take these steps immediately. Prioritize action 1–4 first.

1. Take a measured decision: temporarily disable the plugin or deactivate the site’s booking functionality where possible
   • If you can afford downtime for the booking features, deactivate Eagle Booking immediately in the WordPress dashboard.
   • If you cannot deactivate (business-critical), take the site offline for maintenance or place it into a maintenance mode while you perform mitigations.
2. Enable a managed Web Application Firewall (WAF) with virtual patching (if available)
   • Deploy rules that block common SQL injection patterns specifically for the plugin’s endpoints. Virtual patching prevents active exploitation while waiting for an official fix.
3. Restrict access to plugin endpoints
   • Block or limit public access to plugin AJAX/REST endpoints via web server rules, IP allowlists, or by requiring authentication.
   • If the plugin exposes endpoints under a predictable path (for example /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=… or /wp-json/…), use server-level blocks to deny non-authorized users.
4. Harden user registrations and accounts
   • Temporarily disable public registration if not required.
   • Enforce strong passwords and turn on two-factor authentication for any accounts with elevated privileges.
   • Validate active subscribers: remove suspicious or unknown accounts.
5. Back up the site and database immediately
   • Take a full, isolated backup (files + DB). Store backups offline or in a separate system before performing any remediation.
6. Scan for malware and indicators of compromise
   • Run a full site malware scan and integrity check (core files, plugin files, wp-content).
   • Review recent changes to files and the database.
7. Rotate sensitive credentials
   • Change database credentials, API keys, and any integration secrets used by the booking plugin or site.
   • Regenerate AUTH_KEY, SECURE_AUTH_KEY, and other salts in wp-config.php if you suspect session hijacking.
8. Monitor logs aggressively
   • Turn on request logging for the plugin’s endpoints and inspect for suspicious request patterns, especially those that include SQL meta characters or long random strings.

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Specific server-level mitigations you can apply now

These are actionable rules and approaches you can implement even without a commercial WAF.

• Nginx (example – limit access to specific endpoints)
  • Use allow/deny blocks for known admin IPs.
  • Rate limit requests to plugin endpoints to slow automated exploit attempts.
• Apache (.htaccess) simple block for specific paths
  • Deny direct access to plugin files that are not needed publicly.
  • Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php calls by referrer or require a custom header (temporary).
• Generic WAF signature ideas (do not paste payloads):
  • Block requests where query strings contain suspicious SQL keywords combined with comment characters (e.g., ‘UNION’, ‘SELECT’, ‘INSERT’, ‘–‘, ‘/*’, ‘*/’) when targeting plugin endpoints.
  • Block requests with parameter lengths that are highly abnormal for the plugin (e.g., thousands of characters).
  • Block requests with encoded payloads (URL-encoded SQL tokens) aimed at known plugin parameters.

Note: Be careful to avoid over-blocking legitimate users. Always test rules in “monitor” mode before enforcing.

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Example of a cautious mod_security style rule (illustrative)

The following is an illustrative, conservative example you can adapt and test in a staging environment. It looks for suspicious SQL tokens targeting known plugin parameter names and only triggers when requests hit plugin-specific paths.

# Example mod_security rule (illustrative only — test before using)
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" "phase:2,chain,deny,log,msg:'Possible SQLi against booking plugin endpoint'"
  SecRule ARGS_NAMES|ARGS|REQUEST_HEADERS|REQUEST_BODY "(?i:(\bunion\b|\bselect\b|\binsert\b|\bupdate\b|\bdelete\b|\bbenchmark\b|--|/\*|\*/))" "t:none,deny,status:403"

Do NOT deploy rules blindly on production without testing — they can break legitimate functionality. If in doubt, use a managed rule set from a trusted security provider or enable monitoring-only mode.

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How to detect if your site has already been exploited

If you suspect exploitation, check for these indicators:

• Unusual database queries or spikes in DB CPU usage
• New users created with admin-level privileges or subscriber accounts that seem suspicious
• Unexpected changes in wp_options (site_url, home) or other core settings
• Unexpected scheduled tasks (cron jobs) that run unfamiliar PHP scripts
• Modified plugin or theme files with recently changed timestamps
• Strange outbound network connections from your server (indicates possible backdoors)
• Pages or posts injected with spammy content or scripts
• Login anomalies: frequent failed attempts, or logins from odd geolocations
• Evidence of data exfiltration: large exported DB dumps or files in tmp directories

For database-specific checks, search for recently modified rows in tables like wp_users, wp_options, wp_posts and plugin-specific tables. Look for suspicious serialized options or base64-encoded strings.

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Incident response checklist (step-by-step)

If you confirm or strongly suspect an active compromise:

1. Isolate the site
   • Put the site into maintenance mode or block outside traffic except for trusted IPs.
2. Create a forensically sound backup
   • Make an image of the server, and copy the DB and files to a secure location for analysis.
3. Rotate secrets and credentials
   • Change database passwords, FTP/SFTP accounts, and all user passwords. Invalidate sessions (change salts).
4. Remove or quarantine malicious files
   • Restore modified core/plugin/theme files from a clean source or reinstall the plugin from a trusted repository (only after you are sure no backdoor persists).
5. Clean the database
   • Carefully remove injected rows or options. If needed, restore the DB from a clean backup.
6. Re-scan the site
   • Perform repeated malware scans and a file-integrity check. Use multiple scanning approaches (file signatures, heuristics, and manual inspection).
7. Hardening and recovery
   • Re-enable services once confident the site is clean.
   • Apply all hardening: least-privilege accounts, 2FA, limit login attempts, and remove unused plugins/themes.
8. Post-incident monitoring
   • Maintain heightened log surveillance and block any IPs associated with the incident.
9. Communicate responsibly
   • Notify affected users and stakeholders if sensitive customer data was exposed. Follow any legal/regulatory disclosure requirements.

If you do not have internal expertise to investigate fully, consider working with a professional incident response team experienced in WordPress forensics.

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Long-term remediation and process changes

Don’t treat this as a one-off. Use this incident to harden your overall process:

• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of plugins, versions, and locations on your network
• Subscribe to credible vulnerability feeds and have an internal process to triage vulnerabilities
• Test patches and virtual patches in a staging environment before deploying to production
• Implement continuous monitoring for integrity changes (file hashes) and unusual queries
• Use role-based access control and limit the number of admin-level users
• Keep backups off-site and verify backup integrity periodically
• Run periodic penetration testing or vulnerability assessments on critical systems

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Why a managed WAF and virtual patching matter (practical benefits)

A managed WAF with virtual patching is not a substitute for good patch-management, but it is a practical compensating control that dramatically reduces exposure time. Here’s why:

• Immediate protection: Virtual rules can block known attack patterns targeting the plugin before an official patch is released.
• Low operational overhead: Managed rules are curated and tuned by security engineers to avoid false positives.
• Visibility: WAF logs show attempted exploitation patterns, IPs, and frequencies — invaluable for incident response.
• Complementary controls: WAF + scanning + endpoint hardening provide layered defense, making real exploitation much harder.

At WP-Firewall we provide managed rules that focus on OWASP Top 10 risks (including SQL injection), continuous scanning, and virtual patching when a vulnerability is disclosed. These measures are especially helpful during the window between disclosure and official plugin patch releases.

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Practical recommendations for developers and site maintainers

If you build or maintain plugins (including booking plugins), incorporate these secure coding practices:

• Use parameterized queries (prepared statements) or ORM methods that prevent SQL concatenation
• Use WordPress APIs (wpdb->prepare) correctly — never build queries by simply concatenating user input
• Always validate and sanitize user input, including numbers, dates, and IDs
• Nonce checks: protect admin and AJAX endpoints by validating nonces
• Principle of least privilege: limit what different roles can trigger in the back end
• Keep debug turned off on production and don’t leak SQL errors to the browser
• Add thorough unit and integration tests that fuzz input for injection attempts

If you’re a site owner, ensure your development and staging process includes security testing and that plugins undergo a code review before being used in production.

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If a patch is released: how to safely apply it

1. Test the update in a staging environment first
2. Backup production (files + DB) prior to applying the patch
3. Apply update during a low-traffic window if possible
4. Monitor logs and error reports immediately after the update
5. Verify functionality: run partial regression tests on booking flows, email delivery, and calendar syncs
6. If you used virtual patching, keep the virtual rule active for at least 48–72 hours — then remove only after you’ve confirmed the update fully addresses the vulnerability

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Detection examples and log-inspection guidance

Focus your log inspection on:

• Repeated hits to plugin endpoints with differing parameters
• Long query strings with % encoding
• POST bodies containing large or encoded strings
• Requests that return HTTP 500 followed by a spike in DB activity
• Requests with anomalies in the User-Agent or referer fields

Check database logs (if available) for unusual queries or high-latency SELECTs that may indicate enumeration or exfiltration attempts.

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How WP-Firewall can help you right now

• We provide managed WAF rules that include virtual patches for SQLi patterns that specifically target plugin endpoints. This buys you time while an official patch is released and tested.
• Our scanner inspects both files and the database for indicators of compromise and suspicious changes.
• We offer incident-response guidance and mitigation templates you can apply quickly to limit exposure.

If you want to protect your WordPress sites with an immediate, low-risk layer of defense that blocks exploitation attempts and reduces the attack surface, our managed firewall and virtual patching are built for precisely this kind of event.

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Secure Your Booking Site — Start with a Free Managed Firewall Plan

Protecting your booking system shouldn’t be hard. WP-Firewall’s free Basic plan gives you essential, immediate protection at no cost — ideal for small businesses and sites that need a fast safety net.

Available features on the free Basic plan:

• Managed firewall with virtual patching for known vulnerabilities
• Unlimited bandwidth and WAF protection
• Malware scanner to detect suspicious files and changes
• OWASP Top 10 mitigation rules (including SQL injection protections)

For a no-cost, immediate security boost — including rules that mitigate the current Eagle Booking SQL injection risk — consider starting with our Basic (Free) plan: https://my.wp-firewall.com/buy/wp-firewall-free-plan/

(If you need auto-remediation and advanced controls, our paid plans add automatic malware removal, IP blacklist/whitelist, monthly reports, and auto virtual patching.)

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Final thoughts — act now, but act deliberately

This SQL injection in Eagle Booking is a serious vulnerability primarily because it requires only low privileges and targets a type of plugin that stores sensitive user data. If your site uses Eagle Booking (<= 1.3.4.3), the safe path is:

1. Back up
2. Isolate or disable the plugin if possible
3. Apply immediate server-level mitigations and a managed WAF/virtual patch
4. Scan and investigate the site for signs of compromise
5. Plan and test a secure update once the vendor releases a patch

We understand the pressure of running an active bookings site; downtime is painful. The reality is that an exploited booking system can be far worse. Using virtual patches and managed firewall rules will let you keep services online while actively blocking exploitation attempts.

If you want help implementing the mitigations described in this guide, our team at WP-Firewall can assist with rule deployment, scanning, monitoring, and incident response.

Stay safe and act quickly — your customer data depends on it.

— The WP-Firewall Security Team