CVE-2014-5337 in WordPress Mobile Pack
Summary
by MITRE
The WordPress Mobile Pack plugin before 2.0.2 for WordPress does not properly restrict access to password protected posts, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via an exportarticles action to export/content.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-5337 resides within the WordPress Mobile Pack plugin, a widely used component designed to provide mobile-friendly interfaces for wordpress websites. This particular flaw exists in versions prior to 2014.05.21 and represents a critical access control bypass issue that fundamentally undermines the security of password-protected content within wordpress environments. The vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of export functionality, creating a pathway for unauthorized access to restricted content that should otherwise remain protected by authentication mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control checks within the export/content.php file of the mobile pack plugin. When attackers exploit this flaw through the exportarticles action, they can bypass the standard authentication requirements that normally protect password-protected posts. This misconfiguration allows malicious actors to retrieve content that should be restricted to authorized users only, effectively undermining the entire password protection mechanism that wordpress relies upon for securing sensitive information. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and demonstrates poor privilege enforcement practices that align with CWE-284 access control flaws.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables attackers to systematically harvest protected content from wordpress installations. This can result in unauthorized access to sensitive business information, confidential communications, or proprietary data that was intended to remain private within password-protected posts. The attack vector requires minimal sophistication and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for wordpress sites that rely on password protection for content security. Organizations using affected versions of the mobile pack plugin face significant risk of data leakage and potential compliance violations, especially in environments where wordpress serves as a primary content management platform for sensitive information.
Security professionals should immediately upgrade to version 2.0.2 or later of the WordPress Mobile Pack plugin to address this vulnerability. The mitigation strategy should also include monitoring for unauthorized access attempts and implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls to detect and block exploitation attempts. Organizations should conduct comprehensive audits of their wordpress installations to identify all instances of the affected plugin and ensure proper access controls are in place for all protected content. This vulnerability exemplifies the importance of proper access control implementation and demonstrates how third-party plugins can introduce critical security gaps into otherwise secure wordpress environments. The issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213.002 for data from information repositories and represents a classic example of insufficient authorization controls that can lead to widespread information disclosure across multiple content types within wordpress platforms.