CVE-2024-7781

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-7781 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in the Jupiter X Core plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 4.7.5. The flaw resides in the Social Login widget, which improperly validates authentication, allowing unauthenticated attackers to log in as any user who previously authenticated via social media—including administrators. Notably, the vulnerability can be exploited even if the Social Login element has been disabled, as long as it was previously enabled and used. This makes it a severe threat to WordPress sites using the Jupiter X Core plugin, as it can lead to full site compromise.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is specific to the WordPress ecosystem and the Jupiter X Core plugin. It is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. However, the plugin is distributed via the WordPress plugin repository and may be bundled with themes or other packages, making supply chain awareness critical. Administrators should verify the integrity of their plugin installations and ensure they are sourced from official channels.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 8.1 (High)
• 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: High (C:H)
• Integrity Impact: High (I:H)
• Availability Impact: High (A:H)

The high CVSS score reflects the ease of exploitation and the potential for complete compromise of the WordPress site. The vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction, making it highly attractive to attackers.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The Jupiter X Core plugin's Social Login widget uses a flawed authentication mechanism. When a user logs in via a social media account (e.g., Google, Facebook), the plugin stores a session or token that is improperly validated. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication by manipulating the login request to impersonate the first user who ever logged in via social media. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying the identity of the user during the authentication process.

The flaw persists even after the Social Login element is disabled because the underlying authentication logic remains active in the plugin's code. The partial patch in version 4.7.5 attempted to address the issue but was insufficient, leading to the full patch in version 4.7.8.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

The vulnerable code likely resides in the Social Login handler, where the plugin fails to validate the user's identity properly. The patched version (4.7.8) introduces proper authentication checks, ensuring that only legitimate social media logins are accepted.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

// In vulnerable versions, the plugin may use a static user ID or token
$user_id = get_user_by('email', $social_email);
if ($user_id) {
    wp_set_auth_cookie($user_id);
}

Patched Code (Conceptual):

// In patched versions, the plugin verifies the social login provider's token
$user = verify_social_token($provider, $token);
if ($user && !is_wp_error($user)) {
    $user_id = $user->ID;
    wp_set_auth_cookie($user_id);
}

The exact patch details are not publicly available, but the fix involves adding proper validation of the social login provider's response.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

To exploit CVE-2024-7781, an attacker would need to identify a WordPress site using Jupiter X Core plugin version <= 4.7.5. The attacker can then craft a request to the Social Login endpoint, impersonating the first user who logged in via social media.

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify the target WordPress site.
2. Determine if the Jupiter X Core plugin is installed and vulnerable.
3. Send a crafted HTTP request to the Social Login endpoint with manipulated parameters.

Example Exploit Request (Conceptual):

POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target-site.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

action=jupiterx_social_login&provider=google&user_id=1

This request attempts to log in as user ID 1 (often the administrator) by exploiting the improper authentication.

Blue Team

Defenders should monitor for unusual login activity, especially from social media providers. Indicators include:

• Multiple login attempts from the same IP address using different social media providers.
• Login events for users who have never used social media login.
• Unexpected administrator logins.

Detection Steps:

1. Review WordPress login logs for anomalies.
2. Monitor for requests to admin-ajax.php with action=jupiterx_social_login.
3. Check for users with elevated privileges logging in via social media unexpectedly.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=jupiterx_social_login parameter.
  • Unusual social media login attempts from unknown IP addresses.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified or unexpected user accounts in the WordPress database.
  • Presence of unknown administrator accounts.
• Log IOCs:
  • WordPress debug logs showing failed authentication attempts.
  • Server access logs with repeated requests to the Social Login endpoint.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_7781_JupiterX_Social_Login {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts of CVE-2024-7781 in Jupiter X Core plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-7781"
    strings:
        $s1 = "jupiterx_social_login" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "provider=" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "user_id=" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        all of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-7781 Jupiter X Core Social Login Authentication Bypass
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects exploitation attempts of CVE-2024-7781 via HTTP requests
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        c-uri: '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
        cs-uri-query:
            - '*action=jupiterx_social_login*'
            - '*provider=*'
            - '*user_id=*'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate social login attempts
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-7781 Jupiter X Core Social Login Authentication Bypass"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"action=jupiterx_social_login"; http_client_body; content:"provider="; http_client_body; content:"user_id="; http_client_body; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: Update the Jupiter X Core plugin to version 4.7.8 or later.
2. Workaround: If immediate update is not possible, disable the Social Login widget entirely and remove any stored social login tokens.
3. Monitoring: Enable detailed logging for WordPress login attempts and monitor for suspicious activity.
4. Access Control: Implement additional authentication layers, such as two-factor authentication (2FA), for all administrator accounts.
5. Backup: Ensure regular backups of the WordPress site and database are taken to facilitate recovery.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers