CVE-2016-10148

WordPress Core < 4.6 - Authorization Bypass

2016-08-16 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 4.6
Affected Core: WordPress 4.6
Affected Version: < 4.6
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2016-10148

At a glance

CVE-2016-10148 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WordPress 4.6 WordPress release line, affecting < 4.6. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 4.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2016.

Vulnerability Overview

The wp_ajax_update_plugin function in wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php in WordPress before 4.6 makes a get_plugin_data call before checking the update_plugins capability, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended read-access restrictions via the plugin parameter to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, a related issue to CVE-2016-6896.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 4.6 < 4.6 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For WordPress 4.6 the fix is 4.6: builds < 4.6 are affected, anything from 4.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.6, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: updating to 4.6 is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-10148 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/da8d1659-c532-4020-be16-527c1437952a https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10148

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 4.6

CVSS Vector

4.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone

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