CVE-2021-24194

Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) <= 2.8 - Missing Authorization to Arbitrary Plugin Installation/Activation

2021-04-22 00:00
Bugbang

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.9
Affected Plugin
Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection)
Affected Version
< 2.9
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-285 · Improper Authorization
CVE
CVE-2021-24194
View all Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24194 is a high-severity Improper Authorization vulnerability in the Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 2.9. 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 2.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2021, reported by Bugbang.

Vulnerability Overview

Low privileged users can use the AJAX action 'cp_plugins_do_button_job_later_callback' in the Login Protection - Limit Failed Login Attempts WordPress plugin before 2.9, to install any plugin (including a specific version) from the WordPress repository, as well as activate arbitrary plugin from the blog, which helps attackers install vulnerable plugins and could lead to more critical vulnerabilities like RCE.

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-285: Improper Authorization

Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) < 2.9 carries this weakness at cp_plugins_do_button_job_later_callback, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper authorization means a permission check exists but does not cover the case being exercised, so a caller who is allowed to do one thing is allowed to do a neighbouring thing as well.

A lower-privileged account performs an action reserved for a higher one, which on a multi-author or membership site means an ordinary user reaching administrative behaviour. For Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) the fix is 2.9: builds < 2.9 are affected, anything from 2.9 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.9, 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: Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) 2.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24194https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/da24aad2-ae6b-411e-a229-0df585215731https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24194

Related records

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