CVE-2020-36707 in Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/07/2023
The Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in versions up to, and including, 1.57. This is due to confusing logic functions missing or having incorrect nonce validation. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to gain and perform otherwise unauthorized access and actions via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2026
The CVE-2020-36707 vulnerability affects the Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page plugin for WordPress, specifically versions up to and including 1.57. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress site administration by exploiting Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from improper nonce validation and confusing logic functions within the plugin's codebase, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute unauthorized administrative actions without proper authentication. The flaw is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers who manipulate site administrators into performing actions through social engineering techniques such as clicking malicious links.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the absence or incorrect implementation of nonce validation mechanisms that are essential for verifying legitimate administrative requests. Nonces are cryptographic tokens that ensure requests originate from authorized users and prevent malicious actors from crafting forged requests that appear legitimate to the WordPress administration system. When these validation checks are missing or improperly implemented, attackers can construct malicious requests that bypass the normal authentication and authorization processes. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for Valid Accounts and T1566.001 for Phishing, as the exploitation requires social engineering to trick administrators into executing malicious actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for WordPress site administrators and their organizations. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can perform a wide range of malicious actions including but not limited to modifying plugin settings, creating new administrator accounts, disabling security features, or even deploying malware through the maintenance mode page functionality. The vulnerability particularly targets the plugin's administrative interfaces where sensitive configuration changes are made, allowing attackers to manipulate the site's maintenance mode settings and potentially redirect traffic to malicious destinations. This could lead to complete site compromise, data exfiltration, or the establishment of persistent backdoors through the compromised administrative access.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate action from WordPress site administrators and security teams. The most effective immediate solution is to upgrade the Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode plugin to version 1.58 or later, where the CSRF validation has been properly implemented. Additionally, administrators should implement multiple layers of defense including regular security audits, monitoring for unusual administrative activities, and ensuring that all WordPress core installations and plugins are kept current with the latest security patches. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious administrative requests can provide additional detection capabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing role-based access controls and limiting administrative privileges to reduce the potential impact of such compromises. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and authentication mechanisms in web applications, aligning with security best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks.