CVE-2021-24289

Store Locator Plus <= 5.5.15 - Authenticated Privilege Escalation

2021-04-26 00:00
Chloe Chamberland

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.7
Affected Version
<= 5.5.15
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE-2021-24289
View all Store Locator Plus® for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24289 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Store Locator Plus® for WordPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.5.15. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 5.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2021, reported by Chloe Chamberland.

Vulnerability Overview

There is functionality in the Store Locator Plus for WordPress plugin through 5.5.15 that made it possible for authenticated users to update their user meta data to become an administrator on any site using the plugin.

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

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Reaching this weakness in Store Locator Plus® for WordPress <= 5.5.15 takes any authenticated account. 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 Store Locator Plus® for WordPress the fix is 5.7: builds <= 5.5.15 are affected, anything from 5.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 5.7, 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: Store Locator Plus® for WordPress 5.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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