CVE-2024-9629 in Contact Form 7 + Telegram Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/28/2024
The Contact Form 7 + Telegram plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data and loss of data due to a missing capability check on the 'wpcf7_Telegram::ajax' function in versions up to, and including, 0.8.5. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to approve, pause and refuse subscriptions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/28/2024
The Contact Form 7 + Telegram plugin for WordPress presents a critical security vulnerability through the absence of proper capability validation within the wpcf7_Telegram::ajax function. This flaw affects all versions up to and including 0.8.5, creating a significant risk for WordPress installations that rely on this plugin for telegram integration with contact forms. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access control mechanisms that fail to verify whether authenticated users possess the necessary permissions before executing sensitive operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers who have achieved subscriber-level access or higher to manipulate subscription states through the plugin's ajax endpoint. Specifically, unauthorized modification capabilities enable malicious actors to approve, pause, or refuse subscriptions without proper authorization. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the plugin's permission model. The missing capability check essentially grants elevated privileges to users who should not have access to subscription management functions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on the plugin for automated telegram notifications and user subscription management. Attackers with subscriber accounts can potentially disrupt communication flows, manipulate user engagement, or even use the subscription system as a vector for further attacks. The impact extends beyond simple data modification to potential service disruption and information disclosure risks. Organizations may experience unauthorized message delivery, subscription spamming, or complete breakdown of their telegram notification systems. This vulnerability particularly affects businesses that depend on form submissions for customer communications, marketing automation, or support ticket routing.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege as defined in cybersecurity best practices. From an attack framework perspective, this issue maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. The attack surface is minimized by requiring only subscriber-level access, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by users who have legitimate access to the WordPress site but should not have administrative control over messaging systems. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including plugin updates, role-based access restrictions, and monitoring of unusual subscription activity patterns.
Security practitioners should prioritize this vulnerability for remediation due to its low exploitability requirements and high impact potential. The recommended mitigation strategy involves updating to the latest plugin version where capability checks have been properly implemented. Additionally, administrators should review user roles and capabilities to ensure that subscriber accounts do not possess unnecessary permissions for messaging systems. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual ajax requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint, particularly those attempting subscription state modifications. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of implementing proper access controls in web applications and the potential consequences when such controls are absent or improperly configured.