CVE-2021-24840

Squaretype - Modern Blog WordPress Theme < 3.0.4 - Authorization Bypass

2021-10-11 00:00
Emil Kylander Edwartz

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.0.4
Affected Version
< 3.0.4
CVSS
5.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2021-24840
View all Squaretype - Modern Blog WordPress Theme vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24840 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Squaretype - Modern Blog WordPress Theme WordPress theme, affecting versions < 3.0.4. 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 3.0.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2021, reported by Emil Kylander Edwartz.

Vulnerability Overview

The Squaretype WordPress theme before 3.0.4 allows unauthenticated users to manipulate the query_vars used to retrieve the posts to display in one of its REST endpoint, without any validation. As a result, private and scheduled posts could be retrieved via a crafted request.

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-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Reaching this weakness in Squaretype - Modern Blog WordPress Theme < 3.0.4 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.

Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For Squaretype - Modern Blog WordPress Theme the fix is 3.0.4: builds < 3.0.4 are affected, anything from 3.0.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.0.4, 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: Squaretype - Modern Blog WordPress Theme 3.0.4 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

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