Automatic User Roles Switcher <= 1.1.1 - Missing Authorization to Privilege Escalation
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.1.2
- Affected Plugin
- Automatic User Roles Switcher
- Affected Version
<= 1.1.1- CVSS
- 8.1High
- Weakness type
- CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
- CVE
CVE-2022-3419
At a glance
CVE-2022-3419 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Automatic User Roles Switcher WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.1.1. It carries a CVSS score of 8.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity impact). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 1.1.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2022, reported by WPScanTeam.
Vulnerability Overview
The Automatic User Roles Switcher plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to missing authorization on an unknown function in versions up to, and including, 1.1.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to change their own role to administrator.
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.
CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Reaching this weakness in Automatic User Roles Switcher <= 1.1.1 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.
It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For Automatic User Roles Switcher the fix is 1.1.2: builds <= 1.1.1 are affected, anything from 1.1.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.1.2, 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: Automatic User Roles Switcher 1.1.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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