CVE-2024-50550 in LiteSpeed Cache Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/29/2024
Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in LiteSpeed Technologies LiteSpeed Cache litespeed-cache allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects LiteSpeed Cache: from n/a through <= 6.5.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2026
The CVE-2024-50550 vulnerability represents a critical privilege assignment flaw within LiteSpeed Technologies LiteSpeed Cache plugin, specifically impacting versions up to and including 6.5.1. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-269 privilege assignment category, where the system fails to properly enforce access controls, allowing unauthorized users to escalate their privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of user permissions within the caching system, creating a pathway for malicious actors to gain elevated access rights that should be restricted to administrators only.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs within the plugin's permission management subsystem where user roles and capabilities are not adequately validated during critical operations. When users interact with the caching features, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges to perform certain administrative functions. This misconfiguration allows attackers to manipulate the privilege assignment logic, effectively bypassing the intended access controls that should prevent regular users or even unauthorized visitors from executing privileged operations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant risk for WordPress installations using LiteSpeed Cache, as it directly enables privilege escalation attacks that can lead to complete system compromise. An attacker who gains access to a low-privilege account can exploit this vulnerability to elevate their privileges and gain administrative control over the entire WordPress installation. This includes the ability to modify core files, install malicious plugins, modify user accounts, and potentially access sensitive data stored within the system. The impact extends beyond individual site compromise to potentially affect entire server environments where multiple WordPress installations reside.
The vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms, as attackers can use this flaw to establish long-term access to compromised systems. The attack vector typically involves exploiting the plugin's caching interface to manipulate permission checks during administrative operations, leveraging the lack of proper input validation and access control enforcement. Organizations using affected versions should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest plugin version, reviewing user permissions, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities.
Security best practices recommend immediate patching of this vulnerability as it represents a critical risk to WordPress security posture. The mitigation strategy should include not only updating to the patched version but also implementing comprehensive monitoring of administrative activities and conducting thorough security audits of user accounts. Organizations should also consider implementing additional access controls such as two-factor authentication and limiting direct plugin access to reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper privilege management in web applications and highlights the need for continuous security testing of caching and optimization plugins that handle sensitive system operations.