CVE-2024-49697

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-49697 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Sunshine Photo Cart WordPress plugin, affecting versions through 3.2.9. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or manipulation. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-862: Missing Authorization and carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium). As of the latest intelligence, no public proof-of-concept (PoC) or patch is available, and the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood currently. However, given the WordPress ecosystem's widespread use, this vulnerability poses a risk to sites using the plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users are advised to monitor for updates from the vendor (Sunshinephotocart) and apply patches as soon as they become available. No known supply chain compromise has been reported.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

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

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability is easy to exploit but has limited impact.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the Sunshine Photo Cart plugin's access control mechanisms. The plugin fails to properly validate user permissions when processing certain HTTP requests, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass authorization checks. This is a classic Missing Authorization flaw (CWE-862), where the application does not enforce proper access controls on sensitive functions or data.

The plugin likely uses AJAX handlers or REST API endpoints that lack capability checks. An attacker can craft a request to these endpoints without a valid nonce or authentication token, gaining access to functionality intended for authenticated users. This could include viewing order details, customer data, or administrative settings.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, the following is a hypothetical example of the vulnerable code pattern and a potential fix.

Vulnerable Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_sunshine_get_orders', 'sunshine_get_orders');
function sunshine_get_orders() {
    // No permission check
    $orders = get_posts(array('post_type' => 'sunshine_order'));
    wp_send_json($orders);
}

Patched Code (PHP):

add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_sunshine_get_orders', 'sunshine_get_orders');
function sunshine_get_orders() {
    if (!current_user_can('edit_posts')) {
        wp_die('Unauthorized', 403);
    }
    $orders = get_posts(array('post_type' => 'sunshine_order'));
    wp_send_json($orders);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Attacker)

1. Reconnaissance: Identify WordPress sites using Sunshine Photo Cart via Shodan dorks or WPScan.
2. Endpoint Discovery: Use browser developer tools or Burp Suite to intercept AJAX requests and identify unprotected endpoints.
3. Exploitation: Send a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint without authentication:

   GET /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=sunshine_get_orders HTTP/1.1
   Host: target.com
   

4. Data Extraction: Parse the JSON response to extract sensitive data.

Blue Team (Defender)

1. Detection: Monitor for unusual AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with actions related to Sunshine Photo Cart.
2. Log Analysis: Check web server logs for requests from unauthenticated users to plugin-specific endpoints.
3. Mitigation: Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to known vulnerable endpoints without proper authentication.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=sunshine_get_orders or similar plugin-specific actions.
  • Unusual JSON responses containing order or customer data.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified plugin files (e.g., wp-content/plugins/sunshine-photo-cart/).
  • Suspicious PHP files in the uploads directory.
• Log IOCs:
  • Repeated 403 errors from unauthenticated users attempting to access admin-ajax.php.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_49697_Sunshine_Photo_Cart {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts of CVE-2024-49697 in Sunshine Photo Cart"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-49697"
    strings:
        $ajax_action = "sunshine_get_orders" nocase
        $plugin_path = "sunshine-photo-cart" nocase
    condition:
        $ajax_action or $plugin_path
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-49697 Sunshine Photo Cart Exploitation
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests targeting vulnerable Sunshine Photo Cart endpoints
author: Valters IT
date: 2025/04/10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'admin-ajax.php?action=sunshine_'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate plugin usage by authenticated users
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-49697 Sunshine Photo Cart Exploitation Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=sunshine_"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Actions:
   • Disable the Sunshine Photo Cart plugin until a patch is available.
   • Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests to admin-ajax.php with actions starting with sunshine_ from unauthenticated users.
2. Long-term Fix:
   • Apply the vendor's patch once released.
   • Conduct a security audit of the plugin's code to identify other missing authorization issues.
3. Monitoring:
   • Enable detailed logging for WordPress AJAX requests.
   • Use the provided Sigma and Suricata rules for detection.

Valters IT signature: This report is generated for educational and defensive purposes. Always follow responsible disclosure practices.