Document Embedder <= 1.7.8 - Subscriber+ Arbitrary Private/Draft Post Title Disclosure
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.7.9
- Affected Version
< 1.7.9- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-285 · Improper Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2021-24868
At a glance
CVE-2021-24868 is a medium-severity Improper Authorization vulnerability in the Document Embedder WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.7.9. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 1.7.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2022, reported by apple502j.
Vulnerability Overview
The Document Embedder WordPress plugin before 1.7.9 contains a AJAX action endpoint, which could allow any authenticated user, such as subscriber to enumerate the title of arbitrary private and draft posts.
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-285: Improper Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Document Embedder < 1.7.9 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper authorization means a permission check exists but does not cover the case being exercised, so a caller who is allowed to do one thing is allowed to do a neighbouring thing as well.
A lower-privileged account performs an action reserved for a higher one, which on a multi-author or membership site means an ordinary user reaching administrative behaviour. For Document Embedder the fix is 1.7.9: builds < 1.7.9 are affected, anything from 1.7.9 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.7.9, 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: Document Embedder 1.7.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading
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