Beaver Builder – WordPress Page Builder (Free & Pro) <= 1.7 - Authorization Bypass

2016-02-08 00:00
James Golovich

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.7.1
Affected Plugin
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder
Affected Version
<= 1.7
CVSS
6.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE pending
View all Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Beaver Builder Page Builder WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.7. It carries a CVSS score of 6.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 1.7.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2016, reported by James Golovich.

Vulnerability Overview

The Beaver Builder – WordPress Page Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in versions up to, and including, 1.7 due to bypass in how the capability checking functionality works in the call_action() function. An attacker is able to supply '0' for the 'post_id' parameter which makes the check that a current user can edit the supplied post ID true. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with minimal permissions like a subscriber, to call any of the 40+ AJAX action available and perform many unauthorized actions.

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

Beaver Builder Page Builder <= 1.7 carries this weakness at post_id, and reaching it 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 Beaver Builder Page Builder the fix is 1.7.1: builds <= 1.7 are affected, anything from 1.7.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.7.1, 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: Beaver Builder Page Builder 1.7.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/cd88b116-0a6e-412b-8d43-024fdf36bcdf

Related records

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