CVE-2024-34387

WP Post Author – Enhance Your Posts with the Author Bio, Co-Authors, Guest Authors, and Post Rating System, including User Registration Form Builder <= 3.6.4 - Missing Authorization to Rating Manipulation

2024-05-06 00:00
Kyle Sanchez

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.6.5
Affected Plugin
WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars
Affected Version
<= 3.6.4
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2024-34387
View all WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-34387 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WP Post Author WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.6.4. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 3.6.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2024, reported by Kyle Sanchez.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Post Author – Enhance Your Posts with the Author Bio, Co-Authors, Guest Authors, and Post Rating System, including User Registration Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on a function in all versions up to, and including, 3.6.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to manipulate ratings.

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.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in WP Post Author <= 3.6.4 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 Post Author the fix is 3.6.5: builds <= 3.6.4 are affected, anything from 3.6.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.6.5, 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 Post Author 3.6.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-34387https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4a82a3b7-eb05-4f52-84b7-f1a97dddedf9https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-34387

Related records

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