CVE-2024-0970
📋 TL;DR
The User Activity Tracking and Log WordPress plugin before version 4.1.4 insecurely retrieves client IP addresses from HTTP headers that can be manipulated by attackers. This allows malicious actors to spoof their IP addresses in activity logs, potentially bypassing IP-based security controls. WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- User Activity Tracking and Log WordPress plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could spoof IP addresses to bypass IP-based access controls, hide their true origin in logs, or frame legitimate IP addresses for malicious activities.
Likely Case
Attackers manipulate their logged IP address to evade detection or bypass simple IP-based restrictions in the plugin's logging functionality.
If Mitigated
With proper IP validation and logging controls, the impact is limited to inaccurate audit trails without security bypass.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending HTTP requests with manipulated headers like X-Forwarded-For or Client-IP.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.1.4
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/7df6877c-6640-41be-aacb-20c7da61e4db/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'User Activity Tracking and Log'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 4.1.4+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable plugin
allTemporarily disable the plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate user-activity-tracking-and-log
Web server IP validation
linuxConfigure web server to validate and sanitize client IP headers
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level IP validation using WAF rules to filter spoofed headers
- Supplement plugin logs with server-side logging that captures real client IPs
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'User Activity Tracking and Log' versionCheck Version:
wp plugin get user-activity-tracking-and-log --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 4.1.4 or higher in WordPress admin📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple activity log entries from same user with rapidly changing IP addresses
- IP addresses in logs that don't match network traffic patterns
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing manipulated X-Forwarded-For, Client-IP, or similar headers
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress_logs" AND plugin="user-activity-tracking-and-log" AND (ip_changes > threshold OR suspicious_headers)