CVE-2024-12281

Homey <= 2.4.2 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in homey_save_profile

2025-03-04 21:24

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.4.3
Affected Theme: Homey
Affected Version: <= 2.4.2
CVSS: 9.8Critical
Weakness type: CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE: CVE-2024-12281

At a glance

CVE-2024-12281 is a critical-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Homey WordPress theme, affecting versions <= 2.4.2. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.4.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2025, reported by Tonn.

Vulnerability Overview

The Homey theme for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.2. This is due to the plugin allowing users who are registering new accounts to set their own role. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to gain elevated privileges by creating an account with the Administrator, Editor, or Shop Manager role.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Reaching this weakness in Homey <= 2.4.2 takes no account at all. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.

It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For Homey the fix is 2.4.3: builds <= 2.4.2 are affected, anything from 2.4.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.4.3, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: Homey 2.4.3 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-12281 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3b93c33c-4ab1-48a2-b84d-3cb38ccea829 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-12281

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Homey

CVSS Vector

9.8

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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