BuddyPress <= 7.2.1 - Missing Authorization to Unauthorized Group Access
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 7.3.0
- Affected Plugin
- BuddyPress
- Affected Version
<= 7.2.1- CVSS
- 5.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in the BuddyPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.2.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 7.3.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2021, reported by Kien Hoang.
Vulnerability Overview
The BuddyPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in versions up to, and including, 7.2.1. This is due to missing authorization validation on the group REST-API Endpoint. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers to join or request to join groups they are previously banned from.
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-863: Incorrect Authorization
Reaching this weakness in BuddyPress <= 7.2.1 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Incorrect authorization means a permission check exists but evaluates the wrong thing, so it passes for callers it was meant to stop.
The action runs for users the code intended to exclude, with the same effect as having no check at all. For BuddyPress the fix is 7.3.0: builds <= 7.2.1 are affected, anything from 7.3.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 7.3.0, 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: BuddyPress 7.3.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in BuddyPress
- 10.0BuddyPress 2.0 - 2.7.3 Arbitrary File Deletion
- 9.8BuddyPress <= 9.0.0 SQL Injection
- 9.8CVE-2012-2109: BuddyPress - 1.5-1.5.4 SQL Injection
CVE-2012-2109 - 8.8BuddyPress <= 7.2.1 Insufficient Privilege De-escalation
- 8.8BuddyPress <= 2.3.4 Privilege Escalation
- 8.1CVE-2024-10011: BuddyPress <= 14.1.0 Directory Traversal
CVE-2024-10011 - 7.5CVE-2026-1360: BuddyPress <= 14.5.0 PHP Object Injection
CVE-2026-1360 - 7.5CVE-2020-5244: BuddyPress <= 5.1.1 Sensitive Information Disclosure
CVE-2020-5244
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