Post Meta Data Manager <= 1.2.0 - Missing Authorization to Post, Term, and User Meta Deletion
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.2.1
- Affected Plugin
- Post Meta Data Manager
- Affected Version
<= 1.2.0- CVSS
- 5.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Post Meta Data Manager WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.2.0. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.2.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2023.
Vulnerability Overview
The Post Meta Data Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification and loss of data due to missing capability checks on the pmdm_wp_ajax_delete_meta, pmdm_wp_delete_user_meta, and pmdm_wp_delete_user_meta functions hooked via nopriv AJAX actions in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.0. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary user, term, and post meta.
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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Post Meta Data Manager <= 1.2.0 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 Post Meta Data Manager the fix is 1.2.1: builds <= 1.2.0 are affected, anything from 1.2.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.2.1, 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: Post Meta Data Manager 1.2.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
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