CVE-2021-25013

Qubely <= 1.7.7 - Missing Authorization to Arbitrary Post Deletion

2021-12-27 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.7.8
Affected Plugin: Qubely – Advanced Gutenberg Blocks
Affected Version: < 1.7.8
CVSS: 5.4Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2021-25013

View all Qubely – Advanced Gutenberg Blocks vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-25013 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Qubely WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.7.8. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (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 1.7.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2021, reported by Krzysztof Zając.

Vulnerability Overview

The Qubely WordPress plugin before 1.7.8 does not have authorisation and CSRF check on the qubely_delete_saved_block AJAX action, and does not ensure that the block to be deleted belong to the plugin, as a result, any authenticated users, such as subscriber can delete arbitrary posts

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 Qubely < 1.7.8 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 Qubely the fix is 1.7.8: builds < 1.7.8 are affected, anything from 1.7.8 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.7.8, 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: Qubely 1.7.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-25013 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/1b660260-e335-4be0-a266-0cdc9a4d7504 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25013

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in Qubely – Advanced Gutenberg Blocks

CVSS Vector

5.4

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityLow

This record contains material that is subject to copyright

CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse

Defiant hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute this software vulnerability information. Any copy of the software vulnerability information you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you include a hyperlink to this vulnerability record and reproduce Defiant's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.wordfence.com/wordfence-intelligence-terms-and-conditions/