CVE-2021-34676

NEX-Forms <= 7.8.7 Authorization Bypass

2021-07-19 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 7.8.8
Affected Plugin: NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress
Affected Version: <= 7.8.7
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-285 · Improper Authorization
CVE: CVE-2021-34676

View all NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-34676 is a medium-severity Improper Authorization vulnerability in the NEX-Forms WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.8.7. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 7.8.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2021, reported by rauschecker.

Vulnerability Overview

Basix NEX-Forms through 7.8.7 allows authentication bypass for Excel report generation.

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-285: Improper Authorization

Reaching this weakness in NEX-Forms <= 7.8.7 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper authorization means a permission check exists but does not cover the case being exercised, so a caller who is allowed to do one thing is allowed to do a neighbouring thing as well.

A lower-privileged account performs an action reserved for a higher one, which on a multi-author or membership site means an ordinary user reaching administrative behaviour. For NEX-Forms the fix is 7.8.8: builds <= 7.8.7 are affected, anything from 7.8.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.8.8, 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 7.8.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-34676 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/70587bb9-6f76-4073-b5db-06ffda0194e9 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-34676

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress

CVSS Vector

4.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone

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