CVE-2021-24698

Simple Download Monitor <= 3.9.5 - Contributor+ Arbitrary Thumbnail Removal

2021-10-05 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.9.6
Affected Plugin: Simple Download Monitor
Affected Version: < 3.9.6
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-284 · Improper Access Control
CVE: CVE-2021-24698

View all Simple Download Monitor vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24698 is a medium-severity Improper Access Control vulnerability in the Simple Download Monitor WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 3.9.6. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 3.9.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2021, reported by apple502j.

Vulnerability Overview

The Simple Download Monitor WordPress plugin before 3.9.6 allows users with a role as low as Contributor to remove thumbnails from downloads they do not own, even if they cannot normally edit the download.

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

Reaching this weakness in Simple Download Monitor < 3.9.6 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 Simple Download Monitor the fix is 3.9.6: builds < 3.9.6 are affected, anything from 3.9.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.9.6, 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: Simple Download Monitor 3.9.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24698 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/184885b0-66cd-433d-bfea-d7e8bbb02731 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24698

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Simple Download Monitor

CVSS Vector

4.3

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

Base

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

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