CVE-2024-32820
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Social Share Pro WordPress plugin (also known as Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons). It allows unauthenticated attackers to dismiss admin notices, potentially hiding security warnings or other important messages from legitimate administrators. All WordPress sites running affected versions of this plugin are vulnerable.
💻 Affected Systems
- Social Share Pro (Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons)
⚠️ 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
Attackers could persistently dismiss critical security notices, preventing administrators from seeing warnings about other vulnerabilities or configuration issues, leading to further compromise.
Likely Case
Attackers dismiss plugin update notices or security warnings, causing administrators to miss important information and potentially leaving the site vulnerable to other attacks.
If Mitigated
With proper authorization checks, only authenticated administrators can dismiss notices, maintaining visibility into security alerts and plugin status.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability involves simple HTTP requests to specific endpoints without authentication. Public proof-of-concept details are available in security advisories.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.6.3 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons' or 'Social Share Pro'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or download version 3.6.3+ from WordPress repository. 5. Replace plugin files if manual update required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the Social Share Pro plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate ultimate-social-media-plus
Restrict access to wp-admin
allImplement IP whitelisting for WordPress admin area to prevent unauthorized access
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block requests to vulnerable notice dismissal endpoints
- Monitor WordPress admin logs for unauthorized notice dismissal attempts and implement alerting
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons' version. If version is 3.6.2 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get ultimate-social-media-plus --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 3.6.3 or later in WordPress admin plugins page.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=usm_dismiss_notice from unauthorized IPs
- Multiple notice dismissal attempts from non-admin users
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to notice dismissal endpoints without authentication cookies
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND post_data LIKE "%usm_dismiss_notice%") AND NOT user_role="administrator"🔗 References
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/ultimate-social-media-plus/wordpress-social-share-icons-social-share-buttons-plugin-3-6-2-broken-access-control-lead-to-notice-dismissal-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/ultimate-social-media-plus/wordpress-social-share-icons-social-share-buttons-plugin-3-6-2-broken-access-control-lead-to-notice-dismissal-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
