CVE-2021-24968 in Ultimate FAQ Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/24/2022
The Ultimate FAQ WordPress plugin before 2.1.2 does not have capability and CSRF checks in the ewd_ufaq_welcome_add_faq and ewd_ufaq_welcome_add_faq_page AJAX actions, available to any authenticated users. As a result, any users, with a role as low as Subscriber could create FAQ and FAQ questions
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/27/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-24968 affects the Ultimate FAQ WordPress plugin version 2.1.1 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the plugin's access control mechanisms. This issue stems from the absence of proper capability and cross-site request forgery checks within two specific AJAX actions: ewd_ufaq_welcome_add_faq and ewd_ufaq_welcome_add_faq_page. The flaw allows any authenticated user account, regardless of their role level, to execute unauthorized actions through the plugin's administrative interface. The vulnerability manifests when users with minimal privileges such as subscribers can leverage these unprotected endpoints to add FAQ entries and questions to the website's knowledge base.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability directly violates fundamental security principles established in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog under CWE-352, which addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities. The plugin's failure to implement proper nonce validation and capability checks creates an attack surface where unauthorized modifications can occur through legitimate user sessions. The AJAX endpoints in question lack the necessary authentication verification that should ensure only users with appropriate privileges can perform administrative tasks. This oversight enables privilege escalation through a technique that aligns with ATT&CK framework's T1078.004 sub-technique, which covers valid accounts with limited privileges being used to perform unauthorized actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized content creation, as it allows malicious actors with subscriber-level access to populate the FAQ section with potentially harmful content or spam. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to inject misleading information, create confusion among website visitors, or even deploy malicious links within the FAQ entries. The damage potential increases when considering that FAQ sections often appear prominently in website navigation and search engine results, making the injected content highly visible to end users. The vulnerability also represents a failure in the principle of least privilege, where the plugin grants excessive permissions to users who should not have administrative capabilities.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the patch released in version 2.1.2 of the Ultimate FAQ plugin, which addresses the missing capability and CSRF checks. System administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring of FAQ-related activities to detect any unauthorized modifications that may have occurred before the patch was applied. The remediation process should include reviewing user roles and permissions to ensure that only trusted administrators have access to the plugin's administrative functions. Security teams should also conduct a comprehensive audit of other plugins and themes to identify similar capability and CSRF vulnerabilities that may exist within the WordPress ecosystem, particularly focusing on AJAX endpoints that handle user input or administrative operations.