CVE-2024-12596

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes <= 7.8.5 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Post Deletion

2024-12-17 14:26
Lucio Sá

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 7.8.6
Affected Plugin
LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes
Affected Version
<= 7.8.5
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2024-12596
View all LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-12596 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the LifterLMS WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.8.5. 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 7.8.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2024, reported by Lucio Sá.

Vulnerability Overview

The LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary post deletion due to a missing capability check on the 'llms_delete_cert' action in all versions up to, and including, 7.8.5. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary 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-862: Missing Authorization

LifterLMS <= 7.8.5 carries this weakness at llms_delete_cert, and reaching it 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 LifterLMS the fix is 7.8.6: builds <= 7.8.5 are affected, anything from 7.8.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.8.6, 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: LifterLMS 7.8.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-12596https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8e75a03b-7552-4228-a4d0-13c78d20f6d5https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-12596

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C