CVE-2024-11153
📋 TL;DR
The Content Control WordPress plugin up to version 2.5.0 allows unauthenticated attackers to access restricted content through WordPress core search functionality. This exposes sensitive information from posts that should only be visible to logged-in users or higher-privileged roles. All WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Plugin! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete exposure of all restricted content including private posts, confidential information, or proprietary data intended only for authenticated users.
Likely Case
Partial exposure of restricted content through search queries, potentially revealing sensitive business information or private user data.
If Mitigated
No data exposure if plugin is patched or workarounds are implemented to block unauthenticated search access to restricted content.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires only standard WordPress search functionality and knowledge of restricted content existence.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.5.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/content-control/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Content Control plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download latest version from WordPress repository and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable WordPress Search
allTemporarily disable WordPress core search functionality to prevent exploitation.
Add to wp-config.php: define('DISABLE_SEARCH', true);
Remove Restricted Content
allTemporarily remove or make public any sensitive content until patch is applied.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the Content Control plugin entirely until patched
- Implement web application firewall rules to block search requests to restricted content
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Content Control → Version number. If version is 2.5.0 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=content-control --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify version is 2.5.1 or higher. Test search functionality with restricted content while logged out to confirm access is blocked.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual search query patterns from unauthenticated users
- Multiple search requests targeting known restricted content
Network Indicators:
- HTTP GET requests to /?s= containing keywords from restricted content
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("GET /?s=" OR "search=") AND status=200 AND user="-"