CVE-2024-8658 in myCred Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/25/2024
The myCred – Loyalty Points and Rewards plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce – Give Points, Ranks, Badges, Cashback, WooCommerce rewards, and WooCommerce credits for Gamification plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the mycred_update_database() function in all versions up to, and including, 2.7.3. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upgrade an out of date database.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-8658 affects the myCred plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce, a popular gamification solution that enables website administrators to implement loyalty points, rewards, ranks, badges, and cashback systems. This plugin serves as a critical component for e-commerce sites seeking to enhance user engagement through reward-based mechanisms, making its security paramount for maintaining the integrity of customer data and business operations. The flaw resides within the mycred_update_database() function, which is responsible for handling database schema updates and modifications required for plugin functionality.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from the absence of proper capability validation within the mycred_update_database() function. This function, which should only be executable by authenticated administrators with appropriate privileges, lacks the necessary access control checks that would normally prevent unauthorized users from performing critical database operations. The missing capability check represents a classic authorization flaw that allows attackers to bypass normal security restrictions and execute administrative functions without proper authentication. This vulnerability operates at the application level and specifically targets the plugin's database management functionality, making it particularly dangerous as it enables attackers to modify the underlying data structures that support the entire loyalty program system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it allows unauthenticated attackers to perform database upgrades and modifications that could compromise the entire loyalty points system. Attackers could potentially manipulate user reward balances, alter rank structures, modify badge configurations, or corrupt the database schema itself, leading to complete system instability or data loss. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.7.3, meaning that any site running these versions remains at risk, regardless of whether they are actively using the database update functionality. This creates a significant risk for e-commerce businesses that rely on gamification features, as compromised reward systems could result in financial losses, customer trust erosion, and potential regulatory compliance issues.
Security researchers have classified this vulnerability according to the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) as CWE-284, which specifically addresses improper access control, and it aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1068 technique for exploit for privilege escalation. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the myCred plugin where the capability check has been properly implemented, reviewing and hardening WordPress user permissions, implementing additional security layers such as web application firewalls, and conducting thorough security audits of all installed plugins. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation in web applications and highlights the need for regular security assessments of third-party plugins that handle sensitive data operations. System administrators should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized database modification attempts and establish incident response procedures specifically tailored to address potential exploitation of this type of vulnerability.