CVE-2024-12709 in Bulk Me Now Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/30/2025
The Bulk Me Now! WordPress plugin through 2.0 does not have CSRF checks in some places, which could allow attackers to make logged in users perform unwanted actions via CSRF attacks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2025
The Bulk Me Now! WordPress plugin version 2.0 and earlier contains a critical security vulnerability classified as a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) weakness that compromises the integrity of authenticated user sessions. This vulnerability stems from the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within specific administrative functions of the plugin, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors who seek to exploit authenticated user sessions without their knowledge or consent. The flaw specifically affects the plugin's administrative interfaces where users with sufficient privileges are logged in, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where administrators have elevated access rights.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the plugin fails to validate the origin of HTTP requests that modify plugin settings or perform administrative actions. In a typical CSRF attack scenario, an attacker crafts malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative interfaces, leveraging the authenticated session of a logged-in user to execute unauthorized operations. The vulnerability manifests in the plugin's lack of anti-CSRF tokens or referer validation checks within critical administrative endpoints, allowing attackers to manipulate the plugin's functionality through malicious web pages or email attachments that trigger unauthorized actions. This weakness directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the security model of the WordPress platform by enabling unauthorized modifications to plugin configurations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges, modify plugin settings, or perform actions that could compromise the entire WordPress installation. When attackers successfully exploit this CSRF vulnerability, they can manipulate the plugin's behavior to redirect users to malicious sites, modify plugin configurations, or even inject malicious code into the WordPress environment. The attack vector typically involves tricking an authenticated administrator into visiting a malicious website that automatically submits requests to the vulnerable plugin endpoints, effectively executing unauthorized commands under the administrator's session. This type of attack is particularly insidious because it operates transparently to the victim, who remains unaware of the unauthorized actions being performed on their behalf. The vulnerability can also facilitate more complex attack chains where the compromised plugin serves as a foothold for further exploitation of the WordPress installation.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the Bulk Me Now! plugin where CSRF protections have been implemented, applying WordPress security hardening measures, and configuring proper web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious request patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in web applications, and represents a clear violation of the principle of secure authentication and session management. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through web application exploitation, potentially enabling attackers to maintain access to the compromised WordPress environment. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing Content Security Policy headers and monitoring for unusual administrative activities that could indicate CSRF attack success. The recommended mitigation strategy includes not only patching the vulnerability but also conducting comprehensive security audits of all installed plugins to identify similar CSRF weaknesses that may exist within the WordPress ecosystem.