CVE-2013-3264 in WP Ultimate Email Marketer plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The WP Ultimate Email Marketer plugin 1.1.0 and possibly earlier for Wordpress does not properly restrict access to (1) list/edit.php and (2) campaign/editCampaign.php, which allows remote attackers to modify list or campaign data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2017
The WP Ultimate Email Marketer plugin vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the security posture of wordpress installations. This issue affects version 1.1.0 and potentially earlier releases, creating a pathway for unauthorized remote attackers to manipulate core email marketing functionalities. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within two key administrative files: list/edit.php and campaign/editCampaign.php, which are essential components for managing email subscriber lists and marketing campaigns respectively. The flaw allows attackers to bypass normal authentication mechanisms and directly modify sensitive data without proper credentials.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability constitutes a classic privilege escalation issue where the plugin fails to verify user permissions before executing administrative operations. When users access these specific php files, the application does not validate whether the requesting user possesses the necessary administrative privileges to perform modification operations. This weakness enables attackers to craft malicious requests that exploit the missing access controls, effectively granting them unauthorized modification capabilities over email lists and campaign configurations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and demonstrates how inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms can create persistent security risks in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it provides attackers with the ability to manipulate email marketing campaigns that could be used for malicious purposes including spam distribution, data exfiltration, or phishing attacks. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could alter subscriber lists to include malicious email addresses, modify campaign content to distribute harmful links, or completely compromise the integrity of the email marketing system. The implications are particularly severe for organizations that rely on wordpress for business communications, as email marketing platforms often contain sensitive customer data and can serve as attack vectors for broader network infiltration. This vulnerability also maps to several ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation and credential access, as it allows adversaries to gain elevated privileges within the wordpress environment.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the latest plugin version where the access control issues have been addressed, implementing additional authentication layers, and conducting thorough security audits of all installed wordpress plugins. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative file access patterns can help detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of proper access control implementation in web applications and highlights the need for regular security assessments of third-party plugins that extend wordpress functionality. System administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious requests targeting known vulnerable endpoints, while ensuring that all wordpress installations maintain current security patches and updates to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.