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Scrape Timestamp (UTC): 2024-03-18 09:46:35.851

Source: https://thehackernews.com/2024/03/wordpress-admins-urged-to-remove.html

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WordPress Admins Urged to Remove miniOrange Plugins Due to Critical Flaw. WordPress users of miniOrange's Malware Scanner and Web Application Firewall plugins are being urged to delete them from their websites following the discovery of a critical security flaw. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-2172, is rated 9.8 out of a maximum of 10 on the CVSS scoring system. It impacts the following versions of the two plugins - It's worth noting that the plugins have been permanently closed by the maintainers as of March 7, 2024. While Malware Scanner has over 10,000 active installs, Web Application Firewall has more than 300 active installations. "This vulnerability makes it possible for an unauthenticated attacker to grant themselves administrative privileges by updating the user password," Wordfence reported last week. The issue is the result of a missing capability check in the function mo_wpns_init() that enables an unauthenticated attacker to arbitrarily update any user's password and escalate their privileges to that of an administrator, potentially leading to a complete compromise of the site. "Once an attacker has gained administrative user access to a WordPress site they can then manipulate anything on the targeted site as a normal administrator would," Wordfence said. "This includes the ability to upload plugin and theme files, which can be malicious zip files containing backdoors, and modify posts and pages which can be leveraged to redirect site users to other malicious sites or inject spam content." The development comes as the WordPress security company warned of a similar high-severity privilege escalation flaw in the RegistrationMagic plugin (CVE-2024-1991, CVSS score: 8.8) affecting all versions, including and prior to 5.3.0.0. The issue, addressed on March 11, 2024, with the release of version 5.3.1.0, permits an authenticated attacker to grant themselves administrative privileges by updating the user role. The plugin has more than 10,000 active installations. "This vulnerability allows authenticated threat actors with subscriber-level permissions or higher to elevate their privileges to that of a site administrator which could ultimately lead to complete site compromise," István Márton said. Goodbye, Atlassian Server. Goodbye… Backups? Protect your data on Atlassian Cloud from disaster with Rewind's daily backups and on-demand restores. Take Action Fast with Censys Search for Security Teams Stay ahead of advanced threat actors with best-in-class threat intelligence from Censys Search.

Daily Brief Summary

MALWARE // Urgent Warning to WordPress Admins: Remove Vulnerable miniOrange Plugins

WordPress users are urged to delete miniOrange's Malware Scanner and Web Application Firewall plugins due to a severe security flaw.

The flaw, with a 9.8 CVSS rating, allows unauthorized attackers to gain admin privileges by updating user passwords.

Plugins affected are permanently closed as of March 7, 2024, with Malware Scanner and Web Application Firewall having over 10,000 and 300 active installations, respectively.

Attackers with admin access can upload malicious files, modify content, and redirect users to harmful sites.

A similar critical vulnerability in RegistrationMagic plugin (CVE-2024-1991) was patched on March 11, 2024, in version 5.3.1.0.

Security companies warn that flaws in these popular plugins could lead to complete site compromise.

Users are reminded of the importance of regular updates and security best practices for WordPress installations.