CVE-2024-3627 in Wheel of Life Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/20/2024
The Wheel of Life: Coaching and Assessment Tool for Life Coach plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification and loss of data due to a missing capability check on several functions in the AjaxFunctions.php file in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.7. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary posts and modify settings.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-3627 affects the Wheel of Life: Coaching and Assessment Tool for Life Coach plugin for WordPress, representing a critical authorization flaw that undermines the security posture of affected WordPress installations. This issue stems from insufficient capability validation within the plugin's AjaxFunctions.php file, which governs several administrative functions that should only be accessible to users with elevated privileges. The vulnerability specifically targets versions up to and including 1.1.7, indicating a widespread exposure across numerous installations that have not received the necessary security updates.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing capability check in the plugin's ajax handling functions, which allows authenticated users with subscriber-level access or higher to execute operations that should be restricted to administrators or editors. This oversight creates a privilege escalation vector where attackers can leverage their existing access to perform unauthorized modifications to the WordPress environment. The vulnerability enables the deletion of arbitrary posts and modification of plugin settings, both of which constitute significant security breaches that can lead to data loss, content manipulation, and potential further compromise of the affected system.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a substantial risk to WordPress sites utilizing the affected plugin, as it allows attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the authenticated user and the plugin's functionality. The impact extends beyond simple data modification to include potential disruption of business operations, as subscribers can manipulate core content and settings that may affect the site's functionality and user experience. The vulnerability's accessibility to users with minimal privileges means that even relatively low-privilege accounts can cause significant damage, making it particularly concerning for environments where multiple users have access to the system.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-863, which addresses "Incorrect Authorization" in software systems, specifically targeting the failure to properly validate user permissions before executing privileged operations. This flaw also corresponds to techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and persistence tactics, where attackers can use legitimate system access to perform unauthorized operations. Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including updating to the latest plugin version, reviewing user permissions, and monitoring for suspicious activity within affected systems. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper access control implementation and the potential consequences of overlooking capability checks in web application development.