CVE-2024-13229

Rank Math SEO <= 1.0.235 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Contributor+) Arbitrary Schema Deletion

2025-02-12 16:21
Webbernaut

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.0.236
Affected Plugin
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings
Affected Version
<= 1.0.235
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-284 · Improper Access Control
CVE
CVE-2024-13229
View all Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-13229 is a medium-severity Improper Access Control vulnerability in the Rank Math SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.0.235. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 1.0.236; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2025, reported by Webbernaut.

Vulnerability Overview

The Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized loss of data due to a missing capability check on the update_metadata() function in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.235. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to delete any schema metadata assigned to any post.

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-284: Improper Access Control

Rank Math SEO <= 1.0.235 carries this weakness at update_metadata(), and reaching it takes an account at Contributor level or above. Improper access control means the code decides what a caller may do using something other than their actual permissions, so the decision can be wrong without any check appearing to be missing.

Whoever can shape the request decides the answer, so the protected action runs for callers the code never meant to allow. For Rank Math SEO the fix is 1.0.236: builds <= 1.0.235 are affected, anything from 1.0.236 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.0.236, 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: Rank Math SEO 1.0.236 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-13229https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5776f689-56dd-413d-b02d-5551b97dd5ebhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-13229

Related records

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