Backup and Restore WordPress – Backup Plugin <= 1.9 - Authorization Bypass

2014-12-04 00:00
Kacper Szurek

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.9.1
Affected Plugin
WP BackItUp Community Edition
Affected Version
<= 1.9
CVSS
6.5Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE pending
View all WP BackItUp Community Edition vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WP BackItUp Community Edition WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.9. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). The issue is fixed in version 1.9.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2014, reported by Kacper Szurek.

Vulnerability Overview

The Backup and Restore WordPress – Backup Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on several functions in versions up to, and including, 1.9. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to trigger manual backups. The attackers can download these backups via the vulnerability described in CVE-2014-9012.

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 WP BackItUp Community Edition <= 1.9 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 WP BackItUp Community Edition the fix is 1.9.1: builds <= 1.9 are affected, anything from 1.9.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.9.1, 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: WP BackItUp Community Edition 1.9.1 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/75685f2f-b1d0-4f38-a2b4-1cc0259aedc7

Related records

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