CVE-2022-36352 in User Profiles, Memberships, Groups and Communities Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/09/2024
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Profilegrid ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Memberships, Groups and Communities.This issue affects ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Memberships, Groups and Communities: from n/a through 5.0.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2024
The CVE-2022-36352 vulnerability represents a critical missing authorization flaw within the ProfileGrid plugin for WordPress, specifically impacting versions ranging from an unspecified beginning through 5.0.3. This vulnerability resides in the user profile management system that governs access controls for member communities, user groups, and membership functionalities. The issue stems from insufficient validation mechanisms that fail to properly verify user permissions before granting access to sensitive profile management operations, creating a pathway for unauthorized individuals to manipulate user data and community structures.
This technical flaw operates at the application layer within the WordPress ecosystem, specifically targeting the authentication and authorization controls that should prevent users from accessing or modifying profile information they do not own or lack proper permissions for. The vulnerability can be categorized under CWE-862, which describes "Missing Authorization" conditions where the system fails to properly enforce access controls for protected resources. Attackers exploiting this weakness can potentially access, modify, or delete user profiles, membership status information, group memberships, and community data without proper authentication, effectively bypassing the intended security boundaries of the plugin's user management system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it enables attackers to manipulate community structures and user relationships within the platform. This can result in unauthorized access to private user information, creation of fake user profiles, modification of membership levels, and potential disruption of community dynamics. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations relying on ProfileGrid for managing user communities, where the compromise of user data could lead to privacy violations, reputation damage, and potential regulatory compliance issues under data protection frameworks such as GDPR or CCPA. The attack surface is further expanded when considering that WordPress installations often serve as foundational platforms for business-critical community and membership systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-36352 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to version 5.0.4 or later, which contain the necessary authorization checks and access control improvements. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring measures to detect unauthorized access attempts and review user permissions regularly. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers legitimate credentials use for persistence and privilege escalation, as attackers could leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access to user accounts and escalate their privileges within the community management system. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level access controls and regular security audits of their WordPress installations to prevent similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities from compromising their user data and community platforms.