WP Data Access: Privilege escalation or authentication bypass

WP Data Access is affected by privilege escalation or authentication bypass. Exploitation requires an authenticated WordPress account. A successful request can grant permissions or access that the caller should not possess.

CVE / CNA score 7.5 CVSS 3.1 · security@wordfence.com

NVD score 8.8 CVSS 3.1 · nvd@nist.gov

Component: WP Data Access
Plugin slug: wp-data-access
Affected: See vendor advisory
Safe version: See mitigation notes
Published: Apr 12, 2023
Weakness: CWE-266 — Incorrect Privilege Assignment

This CVE was published Apr 12, 2023 and is one of 6 known issues for this plugin.

What to do

Update, patch or deactivate.

Update WP Data Access to a release outside the affected range, or disable and remove it until a fixed version is available.

No confirmed safe version is listed. Consider a vendor-supported patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality while you assess the risk.

Deactivate only when warranted by your risk profile, or when advised by your hosting provider in the limited circumstances where the vulnerability cannot otherwise be mitigated. If you’re unsure which action is appropriate, contact Fused or your hosting provider for guidance.

Source record

Technical description

The WP Data Access plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 5.3.7. This is due to a lack of authorization checks on the multiple_roles_update function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with minimal permissions such as a subscriber, to modify their user role by supplying the 'wpda_role[]' parameter during a profile update. This requires the 'Enable role management' setting to be enabled for the site.

CVE / CNA vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

NVD vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Update, patch or deactivate.

Technical description

Primary and upstream sources