CVE-2024-7417
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in the Royal Elementor Addons and Templates WordPress plugin allows authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access or higher to bypass password protection and view content from password-protected posts. All WordPress sites using this plugin up to version 1.3.986 are affected. The exposure occurs through the data_fetch functionality.
💻 Affected Systems
- Royal Elementor Addons and Templates WordPress plugin
📦 What is this software?
Royal Elementor Addons by Royal Elementor Addons
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could extract sensitive information from password-protected posts containing confidential business data, personal information, or unpublished content, leading to data breaches and privacy violations.
Likely Case
Subscribers or other authenticated users could access content intended only for specific authorized users, violating content access controls and potentially exposing sensitive information.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, the impact is limited to unauthorized viewing of protected content rather than modification or deletion.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once authenticated. The vulnerability is well-documented with code references available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.3.987
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3162784/royal-elementor-addons/tags/1.3.987/classes/modules/wpr-ajax-search.php
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Royal Elementor Addons and Templates'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. Alternatively, download version 1.3.987+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable plugin
allTemporarily disable the Royal Elementor Addons and Templates plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate royal-elementor-addons
Restrict user registration
allDisable new user registration to prevent attackers from obtaining subscriber accounts
Set 'Anyone can register' to false in WordPress Settings → General
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls and monitor user activity for suspicious data access patterns
- Remove or restrict subscriber-level access to sensitive sites and implement stronger authentication mechanisms
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins → Installed Plugins. If version is 1.3.986 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get royal-elementor-addons --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.3.987 or higher after update. Test password-protected post access with subscriber account to confirm fix.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual access patterns to password-protected posts from subscriber accounts
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful data_fetch requests
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=data_fetch from non-privileged users
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND post_data CONTAINS "action=data_fetch") AND user_role="subscriber"🔗 References
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/royal-elementor-addons/tags/1.3.985/classes/modules/wpr-ajax-search.php#L21
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3162784/royal-elementor-addons/tags/1.3.987/classes/modules/wpr-ajax-search.php?old=3141814&old_path=royal-elementor-addons%2Ftags%2F1.3.985%2Fclasses%2Fmodules%2Fwpr-ajax-search.php
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c3dfb0b7-5d9f-492b-9a1a-d4445d39c00c?source=cve
