CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2024-6411NVD status: Modified

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and…: Improper Privilege Management

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2024-6411 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities from Metagauss, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities versions: 5.8.9 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.77% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 56% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update profilegrid to 5.8.9 or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
MetagaussProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities5.8.9 and earlierNot stated
Metagaussprofilegridbefore 5.8.95.8.9

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).

Official description

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in all versions up to, and including, 5.8.9. This is due to a lack of validation on user-supplied data in the 'pm_upload_image' AJAX action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update their user capabilities to Administrator.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Privilege Management

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
  • Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
  • Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.

More Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities (CWE-269)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities

All ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities

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