Hunk Companion <= 1.8.4 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Arbitrary Plugin Installation/Activation
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.8.5
- Affected Plugin
- Hunk Companion
- Affected Version
<= 1.8.4- CVSS
- 9.8Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2024-9707
At a glance
CVE-2024-9707 is a critical-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Hunk Companion WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.8.4. 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 1.8.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2024, reported by Sean Murphy.
Vulnerability Overview
The Hunk Companion plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized plugin installation/activation due to a missing capability check on the /wp-json/hc/v1/themehunk-import REST API endpoint in all versions up to, and including, 1.8.4. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to install and activate arbitrary plugins which can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution if another vulnerable plugin is installed and activated.
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-862: Missing Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Hunk Companion <= 1.8.4 takes no account at all. 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 Hunk Companion the fix is 1.8.5: builds <= 1.8.4 are affected, anything from 1.8.5 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.8.5, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: Hunk Companion 1.8.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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