CVE-2024-10284

CE21 Suite <= 2.2.0 - Authentication Bypass

2024-11-08 00:00
István Márton

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.2.1
Affected Plugin
CE21 Suite
Affected Version
<= 2.2.0
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-288 · Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
CVE
CVE-2024-10284
View all CE21 Suite vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-10284 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability in the CE21 Suite WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.2.0. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.2.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2024, reported by István Márton.

Vulnerability Overview

The CE21 Suite plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 2.2.0. This is due to hardcoded encryption key in the 'ce21_authentication_phrase' function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as any existing user on the site, such as an administrator, if they have access to the email.

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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-288: Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

CE21 Suite <= 2.2.0 carries this weakness at ce21_authentication_phrase, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Authentication bypass through an alternate path means the application has a second route to a protected action that skips the checks the primary route performs.

The protection on the main path becomes irrelevant, because the attacker simply uses the route that never asks. For CE21 Suite the fix is 2.2.1: builds <= 2.2.0 are affected, anything from 2.2.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.2.1, 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: CE21 Suite 2.2.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-10284https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/45d66743-300e-480d-98b8-99dc30b6e786https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-10284

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C