CVE-2021-4361

JobSearch WP Job Board <= 1.8.1 - Missing Authorization to Arbitrary Options Update

2021-10-05 00:00
Jerome Bruandet

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.8.2
Affected Plugin
JobSearch WP Job Board
Affected Version
<= 1.8.1
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-284 · Improper Access Control
CVE
CVE-2021-4361
View all JobSearch WP Job Board vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-4361 is a high-severity Improper Access Control vulnerability in the JobSearch WP Job Board WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.8.1. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 1.8.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2021, reported by Jerome Bruandet.

Vulnerability Overview

The JobSearch WP Job Board plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on the jobsearch_job_integrations_settin_save AJAX action in versions up to, and including, 1.8.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers to update arbitrary options on the site.

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-284: Improper Access Control

Reaching this weakness in JobSearch WP Job Board <= 1.8.1 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper access control means the code decides what a caller may do using something other than their actual permissions, so the decision can be wrong without any check appearing to be missing.

Whoever can shape the request decides the answer, so the protected action runs for callers the code never meant to allow. For JobSearch WP Job Board the fix is 1.8.2: builds <= 1.8.1 are affected, anything from 1.8.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.8.2, 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: JobSearch WP Job Board 1.8.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-4361https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/839a0cc0-a656-4107-a748-4ad85e950237https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4361

Related records

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