CVE-2024-12028

Friends <= 3.2.1 - Missing Authorization

2024-12-05 19:45

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.2.2
Affected Plugin: Friends
Affected Version: <= 3.2.1
CVSS: 5.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2024-12028

At a glance

CVE-2024-12028 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Friends WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.2.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.2.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2024, reported by Colin Xu.

Vulnerability Overview

The Friends plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on several REST API endpoints in all versions up to, and including, 3.2.1. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send arbitrary friend requests on behalf of another website, accept the friend request for the targeted website, and then communicate with the site as an accepted friend.

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.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Friends <= 3.2.1 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 Friends the fix is 3.2.2: builds <= 3.2.1 are affected, anything from 3.2.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.2.2, 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: Friends 3.2.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-12028 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/980b16d4-3c4a-4ed1-af46-f39f3ec6dd19 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-12028

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Friends

CVSS Vector

5.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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