CVE-2021-4352

JobSearch WP Job Board <= 1.8.1 - Missing Authorization to Settings Change

2021-10-05 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.8.2
Affected Plugin: JobSearch WP Job Board
Affected Version: <= 1.8.1
CVSS: 5.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-284 · Improper Access Control
CVE: CVE-2021-4352

View all JobSearch WP Job Board vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-4352 is a medium-severity Improper Access Control vulnerability in the JobSearch WP Job Board WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.8.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. 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 save_locsettings function in versions up to, and including, 1.8.1. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change the settings of the plugin.

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-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-2021-4352 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/59170f0a-975e-487c-bdb0-585c802b3127 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4352

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in JobSearch WP Job Board

CVSS Vector

5.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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