CVE-2024-10311: External Database Actions Auth Bypass

CVE-2024-10311 Overview

CVE-2024-10311 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in the External Database Based Actions plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 0.1. The vulnerability stems from a missing capability check in the edba_admin_handle function. Authenticated attackers with subscriber-level permissions or above can update plugin settings and log in as any existing user, including administrators. The issue is tracked under [CWE-288] (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel).

Critical Impact
Any low-privileged authenticated user can escalate to full administrator access on the WordPress site, resulting in complete site compromise.

Affected Products

cmorillas1 External Database Based Actions plugin for WordPress
All versions up to and including 0.1
WordPress sites with the plugin installed and activated

Discovery Timeline

2024-11-15 - CVE-2024-10311 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-10311

Vulnerability Analysis

The External Database Based Actions plugin exposes an administrative AJAX handler named edba_admin_handle. This handler processes requests to modify plugin settings and trigger authentication-related actions. The function fails to verify whether the calling user holds the required administrative capability before executing privileged operations.

Any authenticated user, including subscribers, can invoke the handler through the standard wp-admin/admin-ajax.php endpoint. The handler accepts input that changes plugin configuration and can trigger a login as any specified WordPress user. Because subscriber accounts are trivially created on sites that allow user registration, the practical barrier to exploitation is minimal.

Root Cause

The root cause is a missing capability check inside edba_admin_handle. WordPress plugins are expected to call current_user_can() with an appropriate capability such as manage_options before performing administrative work. The affected handler omits this check and relies only on the presence of a valid authenticated session. This design flaw maps to [CWE-288] because an alternate path bypasses the intended authentication and authorization boundary. See the WordPress Plugin Code Review for the vulnerable source location.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the target WordPress site and an authenticated session at subscriber level or higher. The attacker sends a crafted POST request to admin-ajax.php invoking the edba_admin_handle action. The handler processes the request without capability verification, updates plugin settings, and can authenticate the attacker as an existing administrator account. Refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-10311

Indicators of Compromise

POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php containing the action=edba_admin_handle parameter from non-administrative user sessions
Unexpected administrator logins immediately following AJAX calls from subscriber accounts
Modifications to External Database Based Actions plugin settings not initiated by legitimate administrators
New administrator or editor accounts created shortly after suspicious AJAX activity

Detection Strategies

Enable WordPress audit logging to record all invocations of the edba_admin_handle AJAX action along with the calling user role
Correlate admin-ajax.php traffic with user role in web server access logs to identify low-privilege users calling privileged actions
Alert on session role transitions where a subscriber-level session is followed by administrator-level actions from the same IP address

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor for the presence of the External Database Based Actions plugin across WordPress inventory and flag any installation with version 0.1 or earlier
Track privileged WordPress actions such as user_login, profile_update, and update_option for administrator accounts and correlate with prior AJAX activity
Ingest WordPress and web server logs into a centralized SIEM to enable cross-source detection of privilege escalation patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-10311

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate and remove the External Database Based Actions plugin from all WordPress installations until a patched version is available
Audit WordPress user accounts for unauthorized administrator or editor privileges and remove any that cannot be attributed to legitimate activity
Force a password reset for all administrator accounts and revoke active sessions to invalidate any tokens obtained through exploitation
Disable open user registration on sites that do not require it to reduce the pool of low-privilege accounts available to attackers

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no patched version of the External Database Based Actions plugin has been released beyond version 0.1. Administrators should remove the plugin entirely and monitor the WordPress plugin repository for a fixed release. Once a patched version is published, update immediately and verify that the edba_admin_handle function performs a proper current_user_can() capability check.

Workarounds

Restrict access to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php at the web application firewall layer for requests containing the edba_admin_handle action from non-administrator sessions
Apply the principle of least privilege by ensuring subscriber and contributor roles cannot access administrative functionality on production sites
Deploy a WordPress security plugin with virtual patching capability to block exploitation attempts against the vulnerable AJAX endpoint until removal or patching is complete

bash

# Example WAF rule to block exploitation attempts
# Block POSTs to admin-ajax.php invoking the vulnerable action
# for sessions lacking administrator capability
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@endsWith /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" \
    "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1010311,\
     msg:'CVE-2024-10311 EDBA plugin auth bypass attempt'"
    SecRule ARGS:action "@streq edba_admin_handle"