CVE-2024-31435: Social Media & Share Icons Auth Bypass

CVE-2024-31435 Overview

CVE-2024-31435 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the Inisev Social Media & Share Icons WordPress plugin. The flaw stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels that allow unauthenticated actors to reach functionality intended for privileged users. The issue affects all versions of Social Media & Share Icons up to and including 2.8.6. Exploitation requires user interaction over the network and can result in limited integrity impact on the affected WordPress site. The vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or availability based on the published CVSS vector.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated network-based attackers can abuse plugin actions lacking authorization checks, modifying plugin state on vulnerable WordPress sites when a user is induced to trigger a crafted request.

Affected Products

Inisev Social Media & Share Icons plugin for WordPress
All versions from n/a through 2.8.6
WordPress installations using the ultimate-social-media-icons plugin slug

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-17 - CVE-2024-31435 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-31435

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a Broken Access Control issue classified under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization. The plugin exposes one or more action handlers that fail to verify whether the caller possesses the required capability or role before executing privileged operations. Because WordPress relies on plugins to enforce capability checks via functions such as current_user_can() and nonce validation through check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(), omission of these checks permits requests from contexts that should be rejected.

The CVSS vector indicates network-based exploitation with low attack complexity, no required privileges, and required user interaction. The scope is unchanged, and only integrity is affected at a low level. This profile aligns with WordPress plugin actions reachable through admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php endpoints that can be triggered by tricking an authenticated browser session into issuing the request.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of authorization checks on plugin endpoints. The plugin does not validate the caller's WordPress capabilities before performing state-changing operations, and access control decisions rely on implicit assumptions rather than explicit verification. This allows requests originating from lower-privileged or unauthenticated contexts to invoke functionality the developer intended to restrict.

Attack Vector

An attacker delivers a crafted link or web page to a victim browsing a vulnerable WordPress site. When the victim interacts with the attacker-controlled content, the browser issues a request to the plugin endpoint that lacks authorization enforcement. The plugin processes the request and applies the unauthorized change. The EPSS score of 0.208% reflects a low current probability of observed exploitation activity, though missing authorization in WordPress plugins is a well-understood class of issue routinely targeted by automated scanners. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the technical write-up.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-31435

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected modifications to Social Media & Share Icons plugin settings within wp_options table entries
Requests to admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php containing plugin-specific action parameters from unauthenticated sessions
Anomalous referer headers on plugin action requests, particularly external origins
WordPress audit log entries showing plugin configuration changes without a corresponding administrator login

Detection Strategies

Inventory WordPress sites and identify any running the ultimate-social-media-icons plugin at version 2.8.6 or earlier
Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to plugin endpoints lacking valid authentication cookies
Deploy a WordPress audit logging plugin to record administrative actions and compare against authenticated administrator sessions
Use file integrity monitoring on the WordPress plugins directory to detect tampering

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized log analytics platform for query and alerting
Alert on plugin option changes occurring outside of expected administrative windows
Track HTTP requests with missing or invalid WordPress nonces targeting plugin actions
Review the Patchstack advisory for vendor-supplied signatures

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-31435

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Social Media & Share Icons plugin to a version above 2.8.6 once the vendor publishes a fixed release
Audit current plugin settings and revert any unauthorized modifications
Restrict access to the WordPress administrative interface using IP allowlisting or HTTP authentication
Educate administrators to avoid clicking untrusted links while authenticated to WordPress

Patch Information

Review the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the current patch status from Inisev. Apply the vendor update through the WordPress plugin manager once available, and verify the installed version is greater than 2.8.6.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the Social Media & Share Icons plugin until a patched version is installed
Deploy a web application firewall rule blocking unauthenticated POST requests to plugin action endpoints
Apply virtual patching through a WordPress security plugin that enforces capability checks on the affected actions
Limit administrative session lifetimes to reduce the window for user-interaction-based exploitation

bash

# Configuration example: identify affected plugin version on a WordPress host
wp plugin get ultimate-social-media-icons --field=version

# Deactivate the plugin until a fix is applied
wp plugin deactivate ultimate-social-media-icons