CVE-2024-32555 in Easy Real Estate Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/21/2025
Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in NotFound Easy Real Estate allows Privilege Escalation. This issue affects Easy Real Estate: from n/a through 2.2.6.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2025
The CVE-2024-32555 vulnerability represents a critical privilege assignment flaw within the NotFound Easy Real Estate plugin, which enables unauthorized privilege escalation attacks. This vulnerability exists in versions ranging from the initial release through 2.2.6, indicating a persistent security weakness that has remained unaddressed across multiple iterations of the software. The issue falls under the category of improper privilege management, where the system fails to correctly enforce access controls and authorization mechanisms. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to gain elevated privileges without proper authentication or authorization, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
The technical flaw manifests in how the plugin handles user role assignments and permission management within the WordPress ecosystem. When an attacker exploits this vulnerability, they can manipulate the privilege assignment logic to elevate their user rights from standard user level to administrator level or other elevated roles. This occurs due to insufficient input validation and inadequate access control checks within the plugin's codebase. The vulnerability likely stems from improper sanitization of user inputs or flawed logic in the privilege assignment functions that do not properly verify the legitimacy of privilege changes. According to CWE-266, this maps directly to Incorrect Privilege Assignment where the software assigns privileges to a subject that are not properly constrained by the system's access control policy.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, creating a comprehensive security risk for affected WordPress installations. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gain complete administrative control over the website, enabling them to modify content, install malicious plugins, steal sensitive data, and potentially use the compromised site as a launchpad for further attacks on the broader network. The vulnerability affects not just individual user accounts but can compromise the entire website infrastructure, making it particularly attractive to cybercriminals. This type of vulnerability is classified under ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers Valid Accounts, as attackers can leverage elevated privileges to maintain persistent access and move laterally within compromised systems.
Organizations using the NotFound Easy Real Estate plugin must implement immediate remediation measures to address this vulnerability. The primary mitigation strategy involves upgrading to the latest version of the plugin where the privilege assignment logic has been properly corrected and validated. System administrators should also conduct thorough security audits to identify any potential exploitation that may have already occurred. Additional protective measures include implementing network monitoring to detect unusual privilege escalation activities, enforcing strict access controls through WordPress security plugins, and regularly reviewing user permissions to ensure no unauthorized privilege changes have occurred. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper privilege management in web applications and highlights the necessity of regular security assessments to identify and address such issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors.