CVE-2024-5992 in Cliengo Chatbot Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/09/2024
The Cliengo – Chatbot plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'update_chatbot_token' and 'update_chatbot_position' functions in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.1. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to change chatbot settings, which can lead to unavailability or other changes to the chatbot.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/23/2026
The Cliengo Chatbot plugin for WordPress presents a critical security vulnerability that stems from inadequate access control mechanisms within its core functionality. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 3.0.1 and specifically targets two key administrative functions: 'update_chatbot_token' and 'update_chatbot_position'. The absence of proper capability checks means that any unauthenticated user can exploit these endpoints to modify critical chatbot configurations without requiring valid credentials or administrative privileges.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing authorization check that should validate whether the requesting user possesses sufficient permissions to perform administrative modifications. According to CWE-863, this represents a failure in access control validation where the system does not properly verify the identity and privileges of users attempting to execute privileged operations. The vulnerability exists at the application level within the plugin's PHP codebase where these functions are implemented without proper authentication verification before executing any modification operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, potentially leading to complete service disruption or malicious configuration changes that could compromise the chatbot's functionality and integrity. Attackers can manipulate chatbot tokens to gain unauthorized access to chatbot data or redirect conversations to malicious endpoints. The ability to modify chatbot positions could result in user interface disruptions or create opportunities for social engineering attacks where chatbot placement is altered to mislead users about the website's authenticity.
This vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential compromise, as attackers can exploit this weakness to modify system configurations without proper authorization. The lack of authentication checks creates an attack surface that allows adversaries to perform privileged operations through unauthenticated access points. Organizations using affected versions of the Cliengo plugin face significant risk of unauthorized modifications that could impact customer service operations and potentially expose sensitive data exchanges between users and the chatbot system.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate updates to the latest plugin version where the capability checks have been implemented, along with network-based monitoring for suspicious API endpoint access patterns. Security administrators should also review existing user permissions and implement proper access controls at both the application and network levels. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies that include proper input validation, authentication verification, and regular security assessments to prevent unauthorized modifications to critical system components. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious requests targeting known vulnerable endpoints while maintaining comprehensive logging to track any exploitation attempts.