CVE-2020-36670

NEX-Forms <= 7.7.1 - Missing Authorization on Various AJAX Actions

2020-11-27 00:00
Chloe Chamberland

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 7.8
Affected Plugin
NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress
Affected Version
<= 7.7.1
CVSS
6.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2020-36670
View all NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2020-36670 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the NEX-Forms WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.7.1. It carries a CVSS score of 6.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 7.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2020, reported by Chloe Chamberland.

Vulnerability Overview

The NEX-Forms. plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized disclosure and modification of data in versions up to, and including 7.7.1 due to missing capability checks on several AJAX actions. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with subscriber level permissions and above to invoke these functions which can be used to perform actions like modify form submission records, deleting files, sending test emails, modifying plugin settings, and more.

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 NEX-Forms <= 7.7.1 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 NEX-Forms the fix is 7.8: builds <= 7.7.1 are affected, anything from 7.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.8, 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: NEX-Forms 7.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36670https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/01940eeb-b4a6-450d-b646-84f415ca92c9https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36670

Related records

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