CVE-2021-4371

WP Quick FrontEnd Editor <= 5.5 - Authenticated Settings Change

2021-01-12 00:00
Jerome Bruandet

Strategic Overview

Status
Unpatched
Affected Version
<= 5.5
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2021-4371
View all WP Quick FrontEnd Editor – WordPress Plugin vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-4371 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the WP Quick FrontEnd Editor WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.5. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed January 2021, reported by Jerome Bruandet.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Quick FrontEnd Editor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Setting Changs in versions up to, and including, 5.5. This is due to lacking both a security nonce and a capabilities check. This makes it possible for low-authenticated attackers to change plugin settings even when they do not have the capabilities to do so.

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 Quick FrontEnd Editor <= 5.5 takes any authenticated account. 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. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for WP Quick FrontEnd Editor yet, so installs running <= 5.5 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.

Remediation

No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.

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. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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