SAML Single Sign On <= 5.4.6 - Unauthenticated Authentication Bypass via X.509 Certificate Poisoning

The SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in versions up to, and including, 5.4.6. This is due to the mo_saml_login_validate() ACS handler persisting the X.509 certificate extracted from an incoming SAMLResponse into the mo_saml_required_certificate option before the signature-validation verdict is enforced, because mo_saml_find_certificate() returns false on a fingerprint mismatch rather than halting execution. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to overwrite the plugin's stored IdP signing certificate with an attacker-controlled value, and subsequently forge SAML assertions for any WordPress account — including administrators — to obtain a fully privileged session. Note: The exploit requires the administrator to perform a repair after receiving the test_config_error_wpsamlerr004 error message during the test configuration.

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: SAML Single Sign On 5.4.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

• Login Security
• Alerts