CVE-2018-11580 in Mass Pages-Posts Creator Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in mass-pages-posts-creator.php in the MULTIDOTS Mass Pages/Posts Creator plugin 1.2.2 for WordPress. Any logged in user can launch Mass Pages/Posts creation with custom content. There is no nonce or user capability check, so anyone can launch a DoS attack against a site and create hundreds of thousands of posts with custom content.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11580 resides within the MULTIDOTS Mass Pages/Posts Creator plugin version 1.2.2 for WordPress, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity and availability of WordPress installations. This issue stems from the absence of proper authentication and authorization mechanisms within the mass-pages-posts-creator.php script, which is designed to facilitate bulk creation of pages and posts. The flaw allows any authenticated user to initiate mass content generation without proper validation, creating a significant vector for abuse that can severely impact system performance and resource availability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental failure in input validation and access control enforcement. The mass-pages-posts-creator.php file lacks nonce verification and user capability checks that are standard security practices in WordPress plugin development. This absence enables attackers to submit requests that bypass normal WordPress security protocols, allowing unauthorized mass content creation through the plugin interface. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates through legitimate plugin functionality, making it difficult to distinguish from normal user activity and thus evading typical security monitoring systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass significant denial-of-service conditions that can cripple WordPress installations. An attacker with minimal privileges can initiate the creation of hundreds of thousands of posts or pages with custom content, consuming substantial server resources including database storage, memory, and processing power. This resource exhaustion can lead to complete system unavailability, rendering the WordPress site inaccessible to legitimate users and administrators. The vulnerability can be exploited repeatedly, allowing for sustained attacks that can overwhelm server capacity and potentially cause data corruption or loss.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-347, which addresses improper verification of cryptographic signatures, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege. The flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, specifically "Toggle Service State," as it enables attackers to disrupt service availability through resource exhaustion. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates poor security design practices that should be addressed through proper input validation, authentication checks, and authorization controls. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including plugin updates, user capability restrictions, and enhanced monitoring of unusual content creation patterns to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability and maintain system integrity.