CVE-2015-9269 in wordpress-mobile-pack Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The export/content.php exportarticle feature in the wordpress-mobile-pack plugin before 2.1.3 2015-06-03 for WordPress allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information because the content of a privately published post is sent in JSON format.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-9269 resides within the wordpress-mobile-pack plugin, specifically in the export/content.php file's exportarticle functionality. This issue affects versions prior to 2.1.3 released on 2015-06-03, creating a significant security gap in WordPress plugin ecosystems. The flaw manifests when the plugin processes requests for exporting content, particularly impacting privately published posts that should remain restricted to authorized users only.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access control mechanisms within the export functionality. When a user requests to export article content through the mobile pack plugin, the system fails to properly verify user permissions or post visibility settings before transmitting the content. Privately published posts contain sensitive information that should be protected from unauthorized access, yet the export mechanism indiscriminately sends the complete content in JSON format regardless of the post's publication status or access restrictions.
This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-200, which describes "Information Exposure," and represents a classic case of insufficient access control. The operational impact is substantial as remote attackers can exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized access to private content that would normally be restricted. The JSON format transmission makes the sensitive data easily parseable and usable by malicious actors, potentially exposing confidential information that could include proprietary content, internal communications, or other restricted materials.
The attack vector for CVE-2015-9269 operates through remote exploitation without requiring authentication or special privileges beyond basic access to the WordPress site. An attacker can simply make a request to the vulnerable export/content.php endpoint, triggering the disclosure of private post content that should only be accessible to authorized users with appropriate permissions. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the WordPress permission model and content protection mechanisms.
Security practitioners should immediately implement mitigations including updating to wordpress-mobile-pack version 2.1.3 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the access control flaw. Additionally, administrators should conduct thorough audits of their WordPress plugin installations to identify any other potentially vulnerable components and ensure proper access controls are in place. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating access permissions at all points in application logic where sensitive data is processed or transmitted. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level protections such as web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious export requests, while maintaining comprehensive monitoring of content access patterns to identify potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the necessity for robust input validation and access control enforcement in web applications, particularly in plugin architectures where third-party code can introduce unexpected security risks.