Instant Images <= 6.1.0 - Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary Options Update
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 6.1.1
- Affected Plugin
- Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy
- Affected Version
<= 6.1.0- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2024-0869
At a glance
CVE-2024-0869 is a high-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Instant Images WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.1.0. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 6.1.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2024, reported by Sean Murphy.
Vulnerability Overview
The Instant Images – One Click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay and Pexels plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized arbitrary options update due to an insufficient check that neglects to verify whether the updated option belongs to the plugin on the instant-images/license REST API endpoint in all versions up to, and including, 6.1.0. This makes it possible for authors and higher to update arbitrary options. CVE-2024-33569 appears to be a duplicate of this issue.
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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Instant Images <= 6.1.0 takes an account at Author 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 Instant Images the fix is 6.1.1: builds <= 6.1.0 are affected, anything from 6.1.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 6.1.1, 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: Instant Images 6.1.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C