CVE-2022-1186 in Be POPIA Compliant Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/20/2022
The WordPress plugin Be POPIA Compliant exposed sensitive information to unauthenticated users consisting of site visitors emails and usernames via an API route, in versions up to an including 1.1.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-1186 affects the WordPress plugin Be POPIA Compliant which is designed to help websites comply with South African data protection legislation. This plugin version contains a critical information disclosure flaw that allows unauthenticated attackers to access sensitive user data through an improperly secured api endpoint. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions up to and including 1.1.5, indicating a widespread issue within the plugin's user base. The exposed data includes email addresses and usernames of site visitors, representing a significant privacy risk for users who may not have explicitly consented to such data exposure.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the plugin's api route design which fails to properly authenticate or authorize access requests. This represents a classic security misconfiguration where sensitive data is exposed through an endpoint that should require proper authentication or access controls. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the plugin's codebase, allowing any internet user to query the api endpoint and retrieve user information without providing credentials or demonstrating proper authorization. This type of flaw commonly maps to CWE-200 (Information Exposure) and CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery) categories, where the plugin fails to implement proper access controls for sensitive data retrieval operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure as it creates potential for credential stuffing attacks, social engineering campaigns, and targeted phishing attempts. Attackers can harvest email addresses and usernames to conduct large-scale attacks against users across multiple platforms where they may have reused credentials. The exposure of usernames particularly increases the risk of account takeover attempts as these identifiers are often used in conjunction with other attack vectors. This vulnerability also violates fundamental privacy principles and could lead to compliance violations for organizations that rely on the plugin for regulatory compliance while simultaneously exposing their users to data breaches. The impact is particularly severe for organizations operating in regulated environments where data protection is mandatory.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-1186 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the authentication flaw. Organizations should also implement network-level restrictions to prevent unauthorized access to api endpoints, though this is considered a temporary measure. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of all installed WordPress plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities and establish proper monitoring for unauthorized data access attempts. The remediation process should include implementing proper authentication checks, access controls, and input validation for all api endpoints. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious api access patterns, and establish incident response procedures for potential data exposure events. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation in web applications and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213 (Data from Information Repositories) where adversaries attempt to access stored data through exposed interfaces.