CVE-2024-13216 in HT Event Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/31/2025
The HT Event – WordPress Event Manager Plugin for Elementor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.7 via the 'render' function in /includes/widgets/htevent_sponsor.php. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to extract sensitive private, pending, scheduled, and draft template data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2025
The HT Event WordPress plugin represents a popular solution for event management within the WordPress ecosystem, specifically designed to integrate with Elementor page builder functionality. This plugin enables users to create and manage event-related content through customizable widgets and templates. The vulnerability identified in version 1.4.7 and earlier affects the plugin's handling of template data within its widget rendering system, creating a significant security gap that impacts the confidentiality of event-related information. The issue stems from inadequate access controls within the plugin's codebase, specifically in how it processes and exposes template data through the render function.
The technical flaw exists within the /includes/widgets/htevent_sponsor.php file where the render function fails to properly validate user permissions before exposing template data. This vulnerability allows authenticated users with Contributor-level privileges or higher to access private, pending, scheduled, and draft template information that should remain restricted to authorized administrators. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks, where the system does not adequately verify whether the requesting user has proper clearance to access specific template data. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control mechanisms, and falls under the broader category of information disclosure vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it enables attackers to gain insights into event planning processes, draft content, and potentially sensitive organizational information. Contributors and users with elevated privileges can extract template data that may contain confidential information about upcoming events, internal planning details, or proprietary event configurations. This exposure creates risks for organizations that rely on the plugin for managing sensitive event information, as it undermines the confidentiality controls that should protect draft and private content from unauthorized access. The vulnerability essentially allows for privilege escalation through information gathering, enabling attackers to build detailed profiles of event management activities.
Security practitioners should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest plugin version where the vulnerability has been patched, implementing additional access controls through custom user roles, and conducting thorough security audits of all WordPress plugins. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to template data and establish regular vulnerability scanning procedures. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1213.002 for Data from Information Repositories, highlighting how attackers can leverage such information disclosure weaknesses to gather intelligence. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and access control checks within the plugin's template rendering system would prevent similar issues in future deployments. Organizations should also consider using WordPress security plugins that can help monitor and restrict access to sensitive content, while maintaining detailed audit logs of template access attempts to detect potential exploitation attempts.