CVE-2024-13646
📋 TL;DR
The Single-user-chat WordPress plugin has an authorization bypass vulnerability that allows authenticated users with subscriber-level access or higher to modify WordPress option values. This can lead to denial of service by creating site errors or enabling unauthorized features like user registration. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 0.5 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Single-user-chat Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Single User Chat by Aakashbhagat
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could disable the entire WordPress site by setting critical options to invalid values, causing persistent denial of service requiring manual database repair.
Likely Case
Attackers modify options to enable user registration or other features they shouldn't have access to, potentially creating backdoor accounts or disrupting site functionality.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, impact is limited to temporary site errors that can be quickly reverted.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but only subscriber-level privileges. The vulnerability is in a specific function that lacks proper capability checks.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 0.5
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/single-user-chat/trunk/single-user-chat.php#L326
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Single-user-chat' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If no update available, deactivate and delete the plugin immediately.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove vulnerable plugin
allDeactivate and delete the Single-user-chat plugin if not essential
wp plugin deactivate single-user-chat
wp plugin delete single-user-chat
Restrict user roles
allTemporarily restrict creation of new subscriber accounts and review existing ones
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall rules to block requests to the vulnerable endpoint
- Add capability checks via custom code or security plugin to restrict option modifications
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'Single-user-chat' plugin version 0.5 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get single-user-chat --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin is either updated to version after 0.5 or completely removed from the plugins directory📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action 'single_user_chat_update_login'
- WordPress option modifications from non-admin users
- Increased error logs related to option validation
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests containing 'single_user_chat_update_login' parameter
- Unusual option update requests from subscriber-level accounts
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (action="single_user_chat_update_login" OR option_name="login" AND user_role="subscriber")