CVE-2024-3602 in Pop Ups, Exit Intent Popups, Email Popups, Banners, Bars, Countdowns and Cart Savers Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/20/2024
The Pop ups, Exit intent popups, email popups, banners, bars, countdowns and cart savers – Promolayer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized plugin settings update due to a missing capability check on the disconnect_promolayer function in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber access or higher, to remove the Promolayer connection.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-3602 affects the Promolayer plugin for WordPress, a widely used tool that provides various marketing automation features including popups, exit intent triggers, email capture forms, and cart recovery mechanisms. This plugin serves thousands of WordPress websites by enabling businesses to implement sophisticated customer engagement strategies through customizable web elements that appear based on user behavior patterns. The security flaw resides within the plugin's administrative functionality where proper access controls have not been implemented to verify user permissions before executing critical operations.
The technical flaw specifically manifests in the disconnect_promolayer function which lacks a crucial capability check mechanism. This function is designed to remove the connection between the Promolayer plugin and its external services, effectively disabling the plugin's ability to communicate with the Promolayer platform. However, due to the absence of proper authorization verification, any authenticated user with subscriber level access or higher can invoke this function without proper administrative privileges. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability where users can perform administrative actions beyond their intended access level, directly violating the principle of least privilege that is fundamental to secure software design.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for WordPress site administrators and business owners who rely on the Promolayer plugin for their marketing automation needs. An authenticated attacker with subscriber access can exploit this weakness to completely remove the plugin's connection to the Promolayer service, effectively disabling all associated marketing features and potentially causing revenue loss for e-commerce sites that depend on cart recovery and exit intent functionality. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.1.0, meaning that even users who have updated to the latest available version may still be at risk if they have not applied the specific security patch that addresses this capability check issue. This makes the vulnerability particularly concerning as it can be exploited by users who may have legitimate access to a site but lack the appropriate administrative permissions.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems. The flaw demonstrates how a simple missing capability check can create a substantial security gap that allows unauthorized privilege escalation. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1496 which involves resource hijacking through unauthorized access to administrative functions. The vulnerability also relates to T1546 which covers privilege escalation techniques, specifically through modification of application execution flows. Organizations should immediately implement the available security patch from the plugin developers to address this capability check deficiency. Additionally, administrators should conduct comprehensive access reviews to ensure that only authorized personnel maintain subscriber or higher privileges, and consider implementing additional monitoring for administrative function calls within the WordPress environment to detect potential exploitation attempts.
The broader implications extend beyond immediate plugin functionality loss, as this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and authorization checks in WordPress plugin development. Many WordPress plugins fail to implement adequate security controls for administrative functions, creating persistent attack surfaces that can be exploited by threat actors. Security researchers recommend that all WordPress plugin developers adopt security-by-design principles, including comprehensive capability checks, proper input sanitization, and regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced into the WordPress ecosystem. The vulnerability also highlights the need for better security awareness among plugin users who may not fully understand the implications of granting elevated privileges to users within their WordPress installations, particularly those with subscriber-level access who should typically have minimal administrative capabilities.