Yoast SEO <= 1.4.6 - Missing Authorization

2014-08-01 00:00
Anonymous

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.4.7
Affected Plugin
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI
Affected Version
<= 1.4.6
CVSS
6.5Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE pending
View all Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.4.6. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.4.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2014.

Vulnerability Overview

The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on the reset settings function in versions up to, and including, 1.4.6. This makes it possible for unauthorized attackers to reset the plugin's settings.

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-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Yoast SEO <= 1.4.6 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 Yoast SEO the fix is 1.4.7: builds <= 1.4.6 are affected, anything from 1.4.7 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.4.7, 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: Yoast SEO 1.4.7 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/7d33594b-e7b7-4685-97c1-37a2fecc1b8a

Related records

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