CVE-2021-4388 in Opal Estate Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/01/2023
The Opal Estate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to featured property modifications in versions up to, and including, 1.6.11. This is due to missing capability checks on the opalestate_set_feature_property() and opalestate_remove_feature_property() functions. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to set and remove featured properties.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-4388 affects the Opal Estate plugin for WordPress, a popular real estate management solution that allows users to create and manage property listings. This particular flaw exists in versions up to and including 1.6.11, making a significant portion of WordPress installations potentially susceptible to unauthorized modifications. The issue stems from inadequate access control mechanisms within the plugin's core functionality, specifically targeting the administrative features that govern property listing status. The vulnerability represents a critical security weakness that undermines the integrity of property management systems and exposes sensitive administrative capabilities to unauthorized actors.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the absence of proper capability checks within two critical functions: opalestate_set_feature_property() and opalestate_remove_feature_property(). These functions are responsible for managing the featured status of property listings, a feature that typically requires administrative privileges to modify. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate property listings without proper authentication by directly calling these functions through malicious requests. This missing authorization check creates an entry point for unauthenticated attackers to modify property listings, effectively bypassing the plugin's intended access controls and user permission systems. The vulnerability is classified as a weakness in authorization mechanisms under CWE-285, specifically related to insufficient authorization checks for administrative functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate featured property listings, which can have significant consequences for real estate businesses and their online presence. Attackers can potentially promote or demote properties to featured status, affecting visibility and ranking in search results, which directly impacts business revenue and user experience. The ability to modify featured properties without authentication also enables attackers to potentially insert malicious content, disrupt listings, or manipulate search engine optimization strategies. This vulnerability particularly affects WordPress sites that rely heavily on property listings for their business operations, making them vulnerable to competitive disruption, data manipulation, and potential reputational damage. The impact aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 which covers legitimate credentials obtained through manipulation of authentication systems.
The security implications extend beyond simple property modification as this vulnerability can be exploited to conduct various malicious activities including competitive disruption, data integrity attacks, and potential information disclosure. Attackers could systematically remove featured status from competitor properties or promote their own listings, creating unfair market advantages. The vulnerability also increases the risk of further exploitation as it demonstrates weak access control implementation that may indicate additional security flaws within the plugin's architecture. Organizations using this plugin without proper updates or patches are at risk of unauthorized modifications that could affect their entire property management system. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning in the context of web application security as it represents a failure in implementing proper input validation and access control mechanisms that are fundamental to secure software development practices. The remediation approach should focus on implementing proper capability checks and authentication verification for all administrative functions, ensuring that only authorized users can perform property status modifications.