WooCommerce AJAX Product Filters <= 1.3.6 - Arbitrary Settings Update

2019-09-18 00:00
Sucuri Research Team

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.3.7
Affected Plugin
Advanced AJAX Product Filters
Affected Version
< 1.3.7
CVSS
8.3High
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE pending
View all Advanced AJAX Product Filters vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Advanced AJAX Product Filters WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.3.7. It carries a CVSS score of 8.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.3.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2019, reported by Sucuri Research Team.

Vulnerability Overview

The WooCommerce AJAX Product Filters plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary Settings Update in versions up to, and including, 1.3.6. This is due to incorrect usage of the admin_init hook. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change any of the plugin settings and redirect users to malicious URLs.

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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Reaching this weakness in Advanced AJAX Product Filters < 1.3.7 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 Advanced AJAX Product Filters the fix is 1.3.7: builds < 1.3.7 are affected, anything from 1.3.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.3.7, 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: Advanced AJAX Product Filters 1.3.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d5d23fdc-081a-4228-897f-2470a9327887

Related records

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