Image Alt Text <= 2.0.0 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Image Alt Text Update
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.0.0
- Affected Plugin
- Image Alt Text
- Affected Version
<= 2.0.0- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2024-11918
At a glance
CVE-2024-11918 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Image Alt Text WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.0.0. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.0.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2024, reported by Tieu Pham Trong Nhan.
Vulnerability Overview
The Image Alt Text plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data| due to a missing capability check on the iat_add_alt_txt_action and iat_update_alt_txt_action AJAX actions in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to update the alt text on arbitrary images.
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 Image Alt Text <= 2.0.0 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. 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 Image Alt Text the fix is 3.0.0: builds <= 2.0.0 are affected, anything from 3.0.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.0.0, 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: Image Alt Text 3.0.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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