Bulk Delete <= 5.5.3 - Missing Authorization
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 5.5.4
- Affected Plugin
- Bulk Delete
- Affected Version
< 5.5.4- CVSS
- 5.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Bulk Delete WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 5.5.4. 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 5.5.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2016, reported by Panagiotis Vagenas.
Vulnerability Overview
The Bulk Delete plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to missing authorization due to missing capability checks on several functions in versions before 5.5.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers to perform restricted actions which could lead to the arbitrary deletion of site content including pages, posts and users.
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 Bulk Delete < 5.5.4 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 Bulk Delete the fix is 5.5.4: builds < 5.5.4 are affected, anything from 5.5.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 5.5.4, 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: Bulk Delete 5.5.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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