ThemeGrill Demo Importer 1.3.4 - 1.6.1 - Authorization Bypass to Site Reset
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.6.2
- Affected Plugin
- Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill
- Affected Version
1.3.4 – 1.6.1- CVSS
- 9.9Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2020-36837
At a glance
CVE-2020-36837 is a critical-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill WordPress plugin, affecting versions 1.3.4 – 1.6.1. It carries a CVSS score of 9.9 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 1.6.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2020, reported by Dave Jong.
Vulnerability Overview
The ThemeGrill Demo Importer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass due to a missing capability check on the reset_wizard_actions function in versions 1.3.4 through 1.6.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers to reset the WordPress database. After which, if there is a user named 'admin', the attacker will become automatically logged in as an administrator.
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-862: Missing Authorization
Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 1.3.4 – 1.6.1 carries this weakness at admin, and reaching it 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 Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill the fix is 1.6.2: builds 1.3.4 – 1.6.1 are affected, anything from 1.6.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.6.2, 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: Starter Templates & Sites Pack by ThemeGrill 1.6.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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