# CVE-2022-0169: Photo Gallery by 10Web Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery - SQLi

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2022-0169 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-2022-0169

## 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:** 10Web Photo Gallery
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection'))
- **Tags:** cms, wordpress

## Description

The Photo Gallery by 10Web WordPress plugin before 1.6.0 does not validate and escape the bwg_tag_id_bwg_thumbnails_0 parameter before using it in a SQL statement via the bwg_frontend_data AJAX action (available to unauthenticated and authenticated users), leading to an unauthenticated SQL injection

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2022-0169](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2022-0169) is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in the Photo Gallery by 10Web WordPress plugin prior to version 1.6.0, allowing unauthenticated attackers to exploit the bwg_tag_id_bwg_thumbnails_0 parameter via AJAX requests. This flaw could enable remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to data theft, unauthorized access, or complete compromise of the affected WordPress site.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 10th of September 2025.

According to CrowdSec data, while opportunistic exploitation dominates, a portion of threat actors trying to exploit CVE-2022-0169 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-2022-0169 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2022-0169 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Attackers exploit the `/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php` endpoint with the `action=bwg_frontend_data` parameter, injecting SQL payloads via the `bwg_tag_id_bwg_thumbnails_0[]` parameter to perform unauthenticated SQL injection attacks.

## Timeline

- 2022-03-14: CVE Published. CVE-2022-0169 is published to NVD.
- 2025-09-10: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2022-0169 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-09-11: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2022-0169 for the first time.

## References

- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/0b4d870f-eab8-4544-91f8-9c5f0538709c
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2022/CVE-2022-0169.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2022-0169) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2022-0169. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.