CVE-2024-12365

W3 Total Cache <= 2.8.1 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Missing Authorization to Server-Side Request Forgery

2025-01-13 17:58
villu164

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.8.2
Affected Plugin
W3 Total Cache
Affected Version
<= 2.8.1
CVSS
8.5High
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2024-12365
View all W3 Total Cache vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-12365 is a high-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the W3 Total Cache WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.8.1. It carries a CVSS score of 8.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.8.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2025, reported by villu164.

Vulnerability Overview

The W3 Total Cache plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to a missing capability check on the is_w3tc_admin_page function in all versions up to, and including, 2.8.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to obtain the plugin's nonce value and perform unauthorized actions, resulting in information disclosure, service plan limits consumption as well as making web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application that can be used to query information from internal services, including instance metadata on cloud-based applications.

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.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in W3 Total Cache <= 2.8.1 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. 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 W3 Total Cache the fix is 2.8.2: builds <= 2.8.1 are affected, anything from 2.8.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.8.2, 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: W3 Total Cache 2.8.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-12365https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/196e629f-7c77-4bcb-8224-305a0108b630https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-12365

Related records

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