CVE-2024-6455 in Elementor Addons Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/19/2024
The ElementsKit Elementor addons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 3.2.0 due to a missing capability checks on ekit_widgetarea_content function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to view any item created in Elementor, such as posts, pages and templates including drafts, pending and private items.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/19/2024
The CVE-2024-6455 vulnerability affects the ElementsKit plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting versions up to and including 3.2.0. This security flaw represents a critical information exposure issue that undermines the fundamental access control mechanisms within the plugin's architecture. The vulnerability stems from insufficient capability validation within the ekit_widgetarea_content function, which fails to properly authenticate and authorize user requests before exposing sensitive content. This oversight creates a significant security gap that allows unauthorized individuals to bypass normal WordPress access restrictions and retrieve protected content from Elementor-based websites.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the absence of proper capability checks within the plugin's core functionality. When the ekit_widgetarea_content function processes requests, it does not verify whether the requesting user possesses the necessary permissions to access the requested content. This missing validation creates an entry point where any unauthenticated attacker can exploit the function to retrieve information that should be restricted to authorized users only. The vulnerability affects all types of Elementor content including posts, pages, and templates, with the severity increasing when considering that draft, pending, and private content is also accessible through this flaw. This exposure extends beyond simple content viewing to encompass potentially sensitive data that might contain confidential information or unpublished work.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents substantial risk to WordPress website owners who utilize the ElementsKit plugin. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access to unpublished content, draft revisions, and private templates that may contain sensitive business information, personal data, or proprietary designs. The impact extends beyond individual content exposure to potentially compromise entire website security postures, especially when considering that Elementor templates often contain design elements and structural components that could be exploited for further attacks. The vulnerability also aligns with attack patterns documented in the attack tree framework where information disclosure serves as a precursor to more sophisticated exploitation techniques, potentially enabling attackers to gather intelligence for targeted attacks against the website or its users.
The security implications of CVE-2024-6455 can be analyzed through the lens of CWE-200, which categorizes information exposure vulnerabilities that allow unauthorized access to sensitive data. This classification emphasizes the fundamental flaw in access control implementation where proper authorization checks are missing from the plugin's content retrieval mechanisms. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including immediate plugin updates to versions that address the capability check deficiencies, implementation of additional access controls through firewall rules, and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts. The remediation process should also involve comprehensive security audits of other plugin components to identify similar capability validation gaps. Furthermore, this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, where proper authentication and authorization mechanisms must be implemented at every level of application architecture to prevent unauthorized data access and maintain system integrity.