CVE-2024-32808: ProfileGrid Authorization Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2024-32808 Overview

CVE-2024-32808 is an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability in the Metagauss ProfileGrid plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions of ProfileGrid up to and including 5.7.9. It is classified as an Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key weakness [CWE-639].

An authenticated attacker with low privileges can manipulate user-controlled identifiers to access or modify resources belonging to other accounts. Successful exploitation compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of profile data managed by the plugin.

Critical Impact
A low-privileged authenticated user can bypass authorization checks and access or modify other users' profile data through direct object reference manipulation over the network.

Affected Products

Metagauss ProfileGrid WordPress plugin, all versions from n/a through 5.7.9
WordPress sites running the profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities plugin
Community and membership sites relying on ProfileGrid for user profile management

Discovery Timeline

2024-04-24 - CVE-2024-32808 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in the NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-32808

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in ProfileGrid request handlers that accept object identifiers from the client without verifying that the requesting user owns or is authorized to act on the referenced object. An attacker authenticated as a standard subscriber-level user can substitute another user's identifier in a request parameter and cause the plugin to operate on that victim's data.

Because ProfileGrid manages user profiles, group memberships, and community data, exploitation can expose personally identifiable information, alter another user's profile fields, or disrupt account state. The attack requires only network access to the WordPress site and any valid low-privileged account.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or incomplete authorization checks in code paths that resolve resources by a user-supplied key such as a profile identifier or group identifier. The plugin trusts the identifier submitted with the request rather than deriving the target from the authenticated session or validating ownership server-side. This pattern is characteristic of CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key.

Attack Vector

An attacker registers or uses any existing low-privileged WordPress account on the vulnerable site. The attacker then issues a request to a ProfileGrid endpoint, substituting the identifier of another user or resource. The plugin processes the request without verifying ownership, returning or modifying data that belongs to the victim. For technical proof-of-concept details, see the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

No verified public exploit code is available for this CVE. The vulnerability mechanism is described in prose above; refer to the Patchstack advisory for further specifics.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-32808

Indicators of Compromise

Authenticated HTTP requests to ProfileGrid AJAX endpoints or admin-ajax actions containing user or group identifiers that do not match the requesting user's own account.
Unexpected modifications to WordPress user profile fields, group memberships, or ProfileGrid metadata in the database.
Access log entries showing a single low-privileged session iterating through sequential user_id, group_id, or profile identifier values.

Detection Strategies

Compare the authenticated session identity in WordPress access logs against the object identifiers passed to ProfileGrid endpoints, and flag mismatches.
Deploy WordPress activity logging that records profile updates and group membership changes with the acting user, then alert on cross-account modifications.
Inspect web application firewall telemetry for repeated ProfileGrid requests that enumerate identifier parameters from the same client.

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest WordPress and web server logs into a centralized analytics platform and correlate authentication events with ProfileGrid API activity.
Alert on privilege-sensitive ProfileGrid actions such as profile edits, password resets, or group membership changes performed against accounts other than the caller's own.
Baseline normal ProfileGrid usage patterns per user role and generate detections when identifier ranges accessed by a single account exceed that baseline.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-32808

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade the ProfileGrid plugin to a version later than 5.7.9 as soon as the vendor publishes a fixed release, per the Patchstack advisory.
Audit ProfileGrid-managed accounts for unauthorized profile changes, group membership modifications, and unexpected privilege changes.
Rotate credentials for any accounts whose profile data may have been exposed or altered.

Patch Information

Metagauss addresses the issue in ProfileGrid releases after 5.7.9. Administrators should apply the latest available plugin update from the WordPress plugin repository and confirm the installed version through the WordPress admin interface. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for vendor-supplied remediation guidance.

Workarounds

Restrict access to the WordPress site's registration and login flows if the site does not require public account creation, reducing the pool of authenticated attackers.
Deploy a web application firewall rule that inspects ProfileGrid endpoint parameters and blocks requests where the submitted identifier does not match the authenticated session's user identifier.
Temporarily deactivate the ProfileGrid plugin on high-value sites until the patched version is installed if the plugin's functionality is not business-critical.

bash

# Configuration example: verify installed ProfileGrid version and update via WP-CLI
wp plugin get profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities --field=version
wp plugin update profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities
wp plugin list --status=active | grep profilegrid