CVE-2024-43214

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-43214 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the myCred WordPress plugin by Wpexperts (Saad Iqbal). This flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authorization checks, potentially exposing sensitive data or allowing unauthorized actions. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.7.2. As of this report, no official patch has been released, and the vendor's status is unknown. The CVSS score is 5.3 (Medium), with a low EPSS score of 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. However, due to the widespread use of WordPress plugins, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to sites using myCred.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress plugin ecosystem. myCred is a popular points management plugin for WordPress, distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. The lack of a patch means that all installations of myCred <= 2.7.2 are potentially vulnerable. Site administrators should treat this as a supply chain risk and consider removing the plugin until a fix is available.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
• Base Score: 5.3 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L)
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N)
• Availability Impact: None (A:N)

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability allows unauthorized access to sensitive information but does not allow data modification or denial of service. The low EPSS score suggests limited active exploitation, but the lack of a patch increases long-term risk.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the myCred plugin's authorization checks. The plugin fails to properly validate user permissions before executing certain actions or exposing data. Specifically, the mycred plugin uses AJAX handlers and REST endpoints that do not enforce capability checks. An unauthenticated attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to these endpoints to:

• Retrieve user points/balances
• View transaction logs
• Access other sensitive configuration data

The missing authorization is likely due to the use of wp_ajax_nopriv_* hooks without proper nonce or capability verification, or the absence of current_user_can() checks in custom REST API routes.

WordPress Ecosystem Note: This is a WordPress plugin vulnerability. The issue is not related to the underlying web server (Apache/Nginx) but is a direct result of insecure coding practices in the myCred plugin.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only analyze the vulnerable code pattern. The vulnerable code likely resembles:

// Vulnerable pattern (myCred <= 2.7.2)
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_mycred_get_balance', 'mycred_get_balance_callback');
function mycred_get_balance_callback() {
    $user_id = $_POST['user_id'];
    $balance = mycred_get_users_balance($user_id);
    wp_send_json_success($balance);
}

A patched version would include authorization checks:

// Patched pattern (hypothetical)
add_action('wp_ajax_mycred_get_balance', 'mycred_get_balance_callback');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_mycred_get_balance', 'mycred_get_balance_callback');
function mycred_get_balance_callback() {
    // Verify nonce
    if (!wp_verify_nonce($_POST['_wpnonce'], 'mycred_nonce')) {
        wp_die('Security check failed');
    }
    // Check user capability
    if (!current_user_can('edit_mycred_balances')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized');
    }
    $user_id = intval($_POST['user_id']);
    $balance = mycred_get_users_balance($user_id);
    wp_send_json_success($balance);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• Target WordPress site with myCred plugin <= 2.7.2
• Network access to the target

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify vulnerable endpoints: Use a tool like Burp Suite or curl to enumerate AJAX actions:

   curl -s "http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=mycred_get_balance&user_id=1"
   

2. Extract sensitive data:

   # Get user balance
   curl -X POST "http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
     -d "action=mycred_get_balance&user_id=1"
   
   # Get transaction log
   curl -X POST "http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
     -d "action=mycred_get_transactions&user_id=1"
   

3. Automated scanning with Nuclei (if template available):

   nuclei -u http://target.com -t mycred-missing-auth.yaml
   

Note: No public exploit code is available at this time.

Blue Team

Detection & Prevention:

1. Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rules: Block requests to admin-ajax.php with suspicious action parameters related to myCred (e.g., mycred_get_balance, mycred_get_transactions).

2. Monitor for unauthorized access:

   • Look for requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters starting with mycred_ from unauthenticated users.
   • Alert on multiple requests to different user_id values.

3. Temporary mitigation:

   • Disable the myCred plugin until a patch is available.
   • If disabling is not possible, add the following code to the theme's functions.php to block unauthenticated myCred AJAX requests:

   add_action('init', function() {
       if (defined('DOING_AJAX') && DOING_AJAX && !is_user_logged_in()) {
           $blocked_actions = array('mycred_get_balance', 'mycred_get_transactions');
           if (isset($_REQUEST['action']) && in_array($_REQUEST['action'], $blocked_actions)) {
               wp_die('Unauthorized');
           }
       }
   });
   

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=mycred_* parameters from unauthenticated sources.
  • Repeated requests with varying user_id parameters.

• File IOCs:

  • Modified or suspicious entries in WordPress debug log (wp-content/debug.log) showing failed authorization attempts.
  • Unusual entries in web server access logs for admin-ajax.php with myCred actions.

• Log Patterns:

  "POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.1" 200
  "action=mycred_get_balance&user_id=1"
  

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_43214_myCred_Missing_Auth {
    meta:
        description = "Detects myCred plugin files vulnerable to CVE-2024-43214"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-43214"
    strings:
        $vuln_func1 = "wp_ajax_nopriv_mycred" nocase
        $vuln_func2 = "mycred_get_balance" nocase
        $vuln_func3 = "mycred_get_transactions" nocase
        $vuln_func4 = "current_user_can" nocase
    condition:
        ($vuln_func1 or $vuln_func2 or $vuln_func3) and not $vuln_func4
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-43214 - myCred Missing Authorization Detection
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated access to myCred AJAX endpoints
author: Valters IT
date: 2024/01/01
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-43214
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-stem: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=mycred_'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate authenticated myCred AJAX requests
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HOME_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2024-43214 - myCred Missing Authorization Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri;
    content:"action=mycred_"; http_client_body;
    classtype:attempted-recon;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2024-43214;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the myCred plugin until an official patch is released.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated requests to myCred AJAX endpoints.
3. Monitor logs for suspicious activity as described in the IOCs section.

Long-term Fix:

• The vendor (Wpexperts) must release a patched version that includes proper authorization checks (nonce verification and capability checks) on all AJAX and REST endpoints.
• Users should update to the latest version once available.

Workaround:

• If the plugin cannot be disabled, apply the code snippet provided in the Blue Team section to block unauthenticated myCred AJAX requests.

Valters IT - DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Report