ThemeBlvd Themes/Plugins (Various Versions) - Missing Authorization Checks
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.1.5
- Affected Theme
- Swagger
- Affected Version
<= 2.1.4- CVSS
- 6.5Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Swagger WordPress theme, affecting versions <= 2.1.4. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.1.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2014, reported by James Golovich.
Vulnerability Overview
The following plugins and themes for WordPress are vulnerable to arbitrary option deletion and user data manipulation: Theme Blvd Shortcodes plugin <= 1.5.2 , Theme Blvd Widget Areas plugin < = 1.2.2, Theme Blvd Layout Builder plugin <= 2.0.1, Theme Blvd Sliders plugin <= 1.2.3, WP Jump Start theme <= 1.2.4, Alyeska theme <= 3.1.4, Akita theme <= 2.1.4, Arcadian Responsive theme <= 2.0.5, Swagger theme <= 2.1.4, Commodore theme <= 3.0.2, and Barely Corporate theme <= 4.1.4. This is due to missing authorization on the themeblvd_clear_options() and themeblvd_disable_nag() functions called via 'admin_init' hooks. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete any option from the 'wp_options' table and edit any of their user metadata to 'true.'
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-862: Missing Authorization
Swagger <= 2.1.4 carries this weakness at admin_init, and reaching it 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 Swagger the fix is 2.1.5: builds <= 2.1.4 are affected, anything from 2.1.5 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.1.5, 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: Swagger 2.1.5 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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