CVE-2018-21013 in Swape Theme
Summary
by MITRE
The Swape theme before 1.2.1 for WordPress has incorrect access control, as demonstrated by allowing new administrator accounts via vectors involving xmlPath to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/18/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-21013 affects the Swape theme for WordPress versions prior to 1.2.1, representing a critical access control flaw that undermines the security model of the content management system. This issue stems from improper validation of user permissions within the theme's administrative interface, specifically in how it handles XML path parameters during AJAX requests to the wp-admin/admin-ajax.php endpoint. The flaw allows unauthorized users to escalate their privileges and create new administrator accounts, effectively bypassing the standard WordPress user authentication and authorization mechanisms that are designed to prevent such unauthorized access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the xmlPath parameter being improperly sanitized or validated when processed by the theme's backend code. When an attacker sends a crafted request to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with specific xmlPath values, the theme fails to verify whether the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges to perform administrative actions. This misconfiguration creates a path traversal or parameter manipulation vector that enables privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues, and specifically demonstrates how inadequate access control validation can lead to unauthorized administrative privilege acquisition.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows attackers to gain full administrative control over affected WordPress installations without requiring valid administrator credentials or knowledge of existing user accounts. Once exploited, the vulnerability enables attackers to create new administrator accounts, modify website content, install malicious plugins, access sensitive data, and potentially use the compromised site as a launching point for further attacks within the network. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where WordPress sites serve as entry points for broader network infiltration or where multiple users have varying levels of access to the system.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-21013 primarily involve updating to Swape theme version 1.2.1 or later, which includes proper access control checks and parameter validation. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as monitoring wp-admin/admin-ajax.php endpoint for unusual traffic patterns, restricting access to administrative functions through network-level controls, and implementing strong authentication mechanisms including multi-factor authentication. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and access control implementation as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1546 for privilege escalation, emphasizing that such flaws can be exploited to establish persistent access to target systems. Organizations should also conduct regular security audits of third-party themes and plugins to identify similar access control vulnerabilities that could be exploited in similar ways.