CVE-2021-24892

Advanced Forms for ACF <= 1.6.8 - Insecure Direct Object Reference

2020-06-27 00:00
Suppawit Punhakit

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.6.9
Affected Plugin
Advanced Forms for ACF
Affected Version
< 1.6.9
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2021-24892
View all Advanced Forms for ACF vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24892 is a high-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Advanced Forms for ACF WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.6.9. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 1.6.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2020, reported by Suppawit Punhakit.

Vulnerability Overview

Insecure Direct Object Reference in edit function of Advanced Forms (Free & Pro) before 1.6.9 allows authenticated remote attacker to change arbitrary user's email address and request for reset password, which could lead to take over of WordPress's administrator account. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must register to obtain a valid WordPress's user and use such user to authenticate with WordPress in order to exploit the vulnerable edit function.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Reaching this weakness in Advanced Forms for ACF < 1.6.9 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.

Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For Advanced Forms for ACF the fix is 1.6.9: builds < 1.6.9 are affected, anything from 1.6.9 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.6.9, 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: Advanced Forms for ACF 1.6.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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