CVE-2024-44052

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-44052 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in the HelloAsso WordPress plugin, affecting versions from n/a through 1.1.10. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to access unauthorized functionality or data due to insufficient access controls. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium), with a low EPSS score of 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is available, and the vendor has not released a patch. As a WordPress plugin vulnerability, it is part of the WordPress ecosystem and should be addressed through plugin updates or removal.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users should verify the integrity of the plugin file (helloasso/helloasso.php) and ensure no unauthorized modifications have been made. The plugin is not available on NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby ecosystems.

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: 4.3 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) – No user action required.
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U) – Impact confined to the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L) – Limited information disclosure.
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N) – No data modification.
• Availability Impact: None (A:N) – No service disruption.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit but has limited impact. However, missing authorization can lead to data leakage or privilege escalation in conjunction with other flaws.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The HelloAsso plugin for WordPress provides integration with the HelloAsso donation platform. The vulnerability lies in improper authorization checks on AJAX actions or REST API endpoints. Specifically, the plugin fails to verify user capabilities before executing sensitive operations, such as accessing donation logs, settings, or user data.

Root Cause: The plugin uses wp_ajax_* hooks without corresponding wp_ajax_nopriv_* checks or capability verification. This allows unauthenticated users to trigger actions intended for administrators.

Attack Vector: An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to WordPress endpoints like /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action parameters that invoke vulnerable plugin functions.

Impact: Unauthorized access to:

• Donation records (names, amounts, dates)
• Plugin configuration settings
• Possibly user email addresses or other PII

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the vulnerable code pattern is described below.

Vulnerable Code (helloasso.php, version <= 1.1.10):

add_action('wp_ajax_helloasso_get_donations', 'helloasso_get_donations');
function helloasso_get_donations() {
    // No capability check
    $donations = get_option('helloasso_donations');
    wp_send_json($donations);
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

add_action('wp_ajax_helloasso_get_donations', 'helloasso_get_donations');
function helloasso_get_donations() {
    if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $donations = get_option('helloasso_donations');
    wp_send_json($donations);
}

The patch adds a capability check (current_user_can('manage_options')) to ensure only administrators can access the function.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• WordPress site with HelloAsso plugin <= 1.1.10 installed and activated.
• No authentication required.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
2. Send a POST request with the action parameter:

curl -X POST http://target.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d "action=helloasso_get_donations"

3. The server responds with JSON containing donation data.

Example Response:

{
  "donations": [
    {"name": "John Doe", "amount": 50, "date": "2024-01-15"},
    {"name": "Jane Smith", "amount": 100, "date": "2024-02-20"}
  ]
}

Note: The exact action name may vary; attackers can enumerate actions by analyzing the plugin source code.

Blue Team (Detection & Defense)

Detection:

• Monitor /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php requests with suspicious action parameters.
• Look for requests from unauthenticated users to AJAX actions that should require authentication.

Defense:

• Disable the plugin until a patch is available.
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block unauthenticated AJAX requests to known vulnerable actions.
• Use WordPress security plugins to enforce capability checks.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=helloasso_* parameters from unauthenticated sources.
  • Unusual JSON responses containing donation data or plugin settings.

• File IOCs:

  • Modified helloasso.php file (check file integrity via checksums).
  • Suspicious log entries in WordPress debug log (wp-content/debug.log).

• Behavioral IOCs:

  • Unauthorized access to donation records or plugin settings.
  • Unexpected changes to plugin configuration.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Detect_HelloAsso_Vulnerable_Plugin {
    meta:
        description = "Detects vulnerable HelloAsso plugin version <= 1.1.10"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-10-27"
        reference = "CVE-2024-44052"
    strings:
        $vuln_func = "helloasso_get_donations" nocase
        $version_str = "Version: 1.1.10" nocase
    condition:
        $vuln_func and $version_str
}

Sigma Rule

title: Unauthenticated AJAX Request to HelloAsso Plugin
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthenticated POST requests to WordPress admin-ajax.php with HelloAsso action parameters.
author: Valters IT
date: 2024-10-27
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: POST
        cs-uri-query|contains: admin-ajax.php
        cs-uri-query|contains: action=helloasso_
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate plugin functionality if accessed by authenticated users (but this rule targets unauthenticated)
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-44052 HelloAsso Unauthenticated AJAX Access"; flow:to_server; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=helloasso_"; http_client_body; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the HelloAsso plugin until a patched version is released.
2. Review server logs for any unauthorized access to AJAX endpoints.
3. Change any exposed API keys or tokens that may have been compromised.

Long-term Fix:

• Apply the vendor patch when available (currently UNKNOWN).
• Implement capability checks in custom WordPress plugins using current_user_can().
• Use WordPress security plugins to add additional authorization layers.

Workaround:

• Add a custom function to functions.php to block unauthenticated AJAX requests to HelloAsso actions:

add_action('init', function() {
    if (defined('DOING_AJAX') && DOING_AJAX && !is_user_logged_in()) {
        $blocked_actions = ['helloasso_get_donations', 'helloasso_update_settings'];
        if (isset($_POST['action']) && in_array($_POST['action'], $blocked_actions)) {
            wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
        }
    }
});

Valters IT Signature:
This report was generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI. All information is provided for authorized security testing and defense purposes only.