CVE-2024-11286
📋 TL;DR
The WP JobHunt plugin for WordPress has an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to log into any user account, including administrator accounts. This affects all versions up to and including 7.1. Any WordPress site using this vulnerable plugin is at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- WP JobHunt WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Jobcareer by Chimpgroup
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain full administrative control over the WordPress site, allowing them to install backdoors, steal sensitive data, deface the site, or use the server for further attacks.
Likely Case
Attackers compromise user accounts to steal personal information, post malicious content, or escalate privileges to gain administrative access.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and monitoring, impact is limited to the affected WordPress instance, but account compromise still occurs.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability is in the cs_parse_request() function which doesn't properly verify user identity before authentication.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 7.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://themeforest.net/item/jobcareer-job-board-responsive-wordpress-theme/14221636
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find WP JobHunt plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. If no update appears, manually download version 7.2+ from theme provider and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable WP JobHunt Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate wp-jobhunt
Restrict Access to WordPress Admin
linuxLimit access to WordPress admin area using IP whitelisting
# Add to .htaccess for Apache:
Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all
Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
# Add to nginx config:
location /wp-admin {
allow 192.168.1.0/24;
allow 10.0.0.0/8;
deny all;
}
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Immediately disable the WP JobHunt plugin through WordPress admin or by renaming its directory
- Implement web application firewall rules to block authentication bypass attempts targeting the cs_parse_request() function
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for WP JobHunt version. If version is 7.1 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get wp-jobhunt --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify WP JobHunt plugin shows version 7.2 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful login from same IP
- Unusual user agent strings in authentication requests
- Requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with suspicious parameters
Network Indicators:
- Unusual authentication requests to WordPress admin endpoints from external IPs
- Spike in POST requests to authentication-related endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("authentication bypass" OR "cs_parse_request" OR "wp-jobhunt")