# CVE-2021-24946: Modern Events Calendar - SQLi

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2021-24946 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2021-24946

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Background Noise. Continuous low-level scanning or exploitation attempts are observed, mostly opportunistic and automated.
- **CVSS score:** 9.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** Webnus Modern Events Calendar Lite
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection'))
- **Tags:** cms, wordpress

## Description

The Modern Events Calendar Lite WordPress plugin before 6.1.5 does not sanitise and escape the time parameter before using it in a SQL statement in the mec_load_single_page AJAX action, available to unauthenticated users, leading to an unauthenticated SQL injection issue

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2021-24946](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24946) is a critical vulnerability in the Modern Events Calendar Lite WordPress plugin that enables unauthenticated attackers to perform SQL injection by exploiting improper handling of a parameter in a specific AJAX action.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 12th of February 2025.

According to CrowdSec data, while opportunistic exploitation dominates, a portion of threat actors trying to exploit CVE-2021-24946 apply basic targeting methods such as port or service detection. This indicates emerging patterns of selective targeting.
Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2021-24946 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2021-24946 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Observed exploitation attempts are characterized by requests made to URLs containing `/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=mec_load_single_page&time=`, where attackers attempt direct SQL injection through the vulnerable parameter.

## Timeline

- 2021-12-13: CVE Published. CVE-2021-24946 is published to NVD.
- 2025-02-12: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2021-24946 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-02-13: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2021-24946 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/Hacker5preme/Exploits/tree/main/Wordpress/CVE-2021-24946
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-24946.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2021-24946) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2021-24946. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.