CVE-2024-32693
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the ValvePress Automatic WordPress plugin. Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions on the WordPress site. This affects all WordPress sites using the Automatic plugin before version 3.93.0.
💻 Affected Systems
- ValvePress Automatic WordPress Plugin
⚠️ 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
An attacker could gain administrative control of the WordPress site, modify content, install malicious plugins/themes, or steal sensitive data by tricking an admin into executing unauthorized actions.
Likely Case
Attackers could modify plugin settings, create/delete content, or perform other administrative actions without the admin's knowledge or consent.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and admin awareness, the risk is significantly reduced as exploitation requires social engineering and admin interaction.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires tricking an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link or visiting a compromised page. No authentication bypass is needed beyond the admin's existing session.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.93.0
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Automatic' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or download version 3.93.0 from WordPress repository. 5. Activate the updated plugin.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement CSRF Protection Headers
allAdd security headers to WordPress to help prevent CSRF attacks
Add to .htaccess: Header set X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "frame-ancestors 'self'"
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
linuxDisable the Automatic plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate wp-automatic
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls and limit administrative sessions to trusted networks only.
- Educate administrators about CSRF risks and advise against clicking untrusted links while logged into WordPress admin.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'Automatic' plugin version. If version is below 3.93.0, the site is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get wp-automatic --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the Automatic plugin version shows 3.93.0 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual administrative actions from unexpected IP addresses
- Multiple failed CSRF token validations in WordPress logs
- Administrative actions without corresponding user login events
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to WordPress admin endpoints without proper referrer headers
- Requests containing wp-automatic parameters from external domains
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("wp-automatic" OR "automatic_plugin") AND ("admin" OR "settings") AND status=200 AND referrer NOT CONTAINS "yourdomain.com"🔗 References
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/wp-automatic/wordpress-automatic-plugin-3-93-0-multiple-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/wp-automatic/wordpress-automatic-plugin-3-93-0-multiple-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
