Profile Builder <= 3.1.0 - Privilege Escalation

2020-02-13 00:00
Mikey Veenstra

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.1.1
Affected Plugin
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor
Affected Version
< 3.1.1
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE pending
View all User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a critical-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the User Profile Builder WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 3.1.1. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.1.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2020, reported by Mikey Veenstra.

Vulnerability Overview

The Profile Builder and Profile Builder Pro plugin versions up to and including 3.1.0 allows unauthenticated attackers to gain administrator-level permissions by registering users on a vulnerable site and assigning their own role.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Reaching this weakness in User Profile Builder < 3.1.1 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.

It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For User Profile Builder the fix is 3.1.1: builds < 3.1.1 are affected, anything from 3.1.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.1.1, or a newer patched version

How WordSec helps

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: User Profile Builder 3.1.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8fcf7283-eb6c-4fee-b606-79026e2227fc

Related records

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