CVE-2024-12922 in Altair Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/19/2025
The Altair theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check within functions.php in all versions up to, and including, 5.2.4. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update the default role for registration to administrator and enable user registration for attackers to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/19/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-12922 affects the Altair theme for WordPress, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress installations. This issue stems from a fundamental lack of proper access control mechanisms within the theme's codebase, specifically in the functions.php file which serves as a central component for theme functionality. The flaw exists across all versions up to and including 5.2.4, making a substantial number of WordPress sites potentially vulnerable to exploitation. The vulnerability classification aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and represents a significant weakness in the theme's authorization framework that allows for unauthorized data manipulation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through a missing capability check within the theme's PHP functions, which should have validated user permissions before allowing modifications to critical WordPress settings. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending crafted requests to update arbitrary WordPress options without requiring authentication or administrative privileges. This missing validation creates a direct pathway for privilege escalation attacks, as the vulnerability allows for modification of core WordPress configuration parameters that control user registration and role assignments. The flaw essentially bypasses WordPress's built-in security mechanisms that normally require administrative credentials to modify such critical settings.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it provides attackers with a complete pathway to administrative access. By leveraging this weakness, unauthorized users can modify the default role assigned to new registrations, effectively allowing them to create administrator accounts or elevate existing users to administrative privileges. This capability transforms a simple data modification vulnerability into a full compromise vector, as attackers can establish persistent access to the WordPress installation and potentially gain control over the entire website infrastructure. The vulnerability's exploitation directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers valid accounts, as attackers can establish legitimate administrative access through manipulated registration settings.
Organizations using affected versions of the Altair theme face significant risk of unauthorized access, data compromise, and potential full system control. The vulnerability enables attackers to perform actions such as modifying website content, installing malicious plugins, accessing sensitive user data, and potentially using the compromised site as a launchpad for further attacks within the network. The impact is particularly severe for websites that rely on user registration features, as attackers can exploit this vulnerability to create administrator accounts and maintain persistent access. Security practitioners should prioritize immediate remediation through theme updates, as the vulnerability affects the core WordPress security model and provides attackers with an easily exploitable pathway to elevated privileges.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate theme updates to versions that address the missing capability check in functions.php. Additionally, administrators should implement network-level protections such as firewall rules to restrict access to WordPress administrative endpoints and monitor for unusual modification patterns in WordPress options. Security monitoring should include detection of unauthorized changes to user registration settings, default role assignments, and any modifications to core WordPress configuration parameters. Organizations should also consider implementing additional access controls and authentication measures, such as two-factor authentication, to reduce the risk of exploitation. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper input validation and capability checks in web application development, particularly in themes and plugins that interact with core WordPress functionality.