CVE-2024-3897 in Popup Box Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/03/2024
The Popup Box – Best WordPress Popup Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to a missing capability check on the ays_pb_create_author AJAX action in all versions up to, and including, 4.3.6. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to enumerate all emails registered on the website.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-3897 affects the Popup Box - Best WordPress Popup Plugin, a widely used WordPress extension that facilitates the creation and management of popup windows on websites. This particular flaw resides within the plugin's AJAX handling mechanism, specifically in the ays_pb_create_author action which is designed to manage author-related operations within the popup functionality. The vulnerability represents a critical security oversight that undermines the fundamental access control mechanisms inherent to WordPress plugin architecture. The affected versions range from the initial release up to and including version 4.3.6, indicating a prolonged period during which this vulnerability remained unaddressed within the plugin's codebase.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of capability verification within the AJAX endpoint implementation. In WordPress security architecture, all administrative actions must undergo rigorous capability checks to ensure that only users with appropriate permissions can execute sensitive operations. This missing capability check creates an exploitable condition where any unauthenticated user can submit requests to the ays_pb_create_author endpoint without requiring authentication credentials or administrative privileges. The vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and represents a classic example of insecure direct object reference, where the system fails to verify that the requesting entity has proper authorization to access the requested resource. This flaw is categorized under CWE-285, which deals with insufficient authorization mechanisms, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for WordPress website administrators and their users. Attackers can exploit this weakness to enumerate all email addresses registered on the target website, effectively creating a comprehensive database of user accounts without any authentication requirements. This information gathering capability provides attackers with valuable intelligence for subsequent attacks including credential stuffing, social engineering campaigns, and targeted phishing operations. The enumeration process bypasses standard WordPress user management protections and exposes the entire user base of the website to potential compromise. The vulnerability essentially transforms a legitimate plugin feature into an information disclosure mechanism that can be leveraged for reconnaissance purposes, making it particularly dangerous for websites with sensitive user data or those operating in regulated environments where user privacy is paramount.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements. The most critical action is to upgrade to the latest version of the Popup Box plugin where the capability check has been properly implemented and the missing authorization mechanism has been restored. Administrators should also conduct comprehensive security audits of all installed plugins to identify similar authorization gaps that may exist within other components of their WordPress installation. Network-level monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of AJAX requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint, and access logs should be reviewed for signs of unauthorized enumeration attempts. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and output encoding practices will help prevent similar issues from arising in future plugin development. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices in WordPress environments and highlights the need for regular security assessments of third-party plugins that may introduce unexpected risks to the overall system security posture.