CVE-2011-5328 in user-access-manager Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The user-access-manager plugin before 1.2 for WordPress has CSRF.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2023
The user-access-manager plugin for WordPress versions prior to 1.2 contains a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. This vulnerability exists due to the absence of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the plugin's administrative interfaces, making it susceptible to exploitation by malicious actors who can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrators.
The technical flaw manifests in the plugin's failure to implement CSRF tokens or other validation mechanisms when processing administrative requests. When administrators access the plugin's settings or perform management operations, the system does not verify that requests are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user rather than by a third-party attacker. This absence of validation creates a pathway for attackers to manipulate the plugin's functionality through crafted web requests that leverage the administrator's authenticated session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary actions within the WordPress environment with administrative privileges. An attacker could potentially modify user access permissions, alter plugin settings, or perform other administrative tasks that could compromise the entire WordPress installation. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal user interaction from the administrator, as the malicious requests can be delivered through social engineering attacks, compromised websites, or by exploiting other vulnerabilities in the web application stack.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient anti-CSRF protection where the application fails to validate the origin of requests, allowing attackers to perform unauthorized operations. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1078.004, which involves valid accounts and credential access, as it enables attackers to leverage existing administrative sessions to perform malicious activities without needing to compromise credentials directly.
The recommended mitigations include immediate upgrading of the user-access-manager plugin to version 1.2 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as using security headers, implementing Content Security Policy directives, and ensuring that all WordPress plugins are kept up to date with the latest security patches. Organizations should conduct regular security assessments of their WordPress installations and verify that all administrative interfaces properly implement CSRF protection to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in other components of their web applications.