CVE-2024-44006 Overview
CVE-2024-44006 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin for WordPress, authored by Amir Helzer and maintained by OnTheGoSystems. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 5.3.6. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can perform actions that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles, enabling broken access control against WordPress stores using this plugin.
The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 and is exploitable over the network with low attack complexity. Successful exploitation impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress store.
Critical Impact
An authenticated user with minimal privileges can bypass authorization checks in the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin and perform restricted operations on the affected WordPress site.
Affected Products
- OnTheGoSystems WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 5.3.6
- WordPress sites running WooCommerce with the vulnerable plugin installed
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-11-01 - CVE-2024-44006 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-44006
Vulnerability Analysis
The WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin extends WooCommerce with translation and currency features. The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks on plugin actions. The plugin exposes functionality that fails to verify whether the requesting user holds the required capability before executing sensitive operations.
An authenticated attacker holding a low-privileged WordPress role can send crafted requests to reach plugin endpoints. Because capability checks are absent, the plugin processes the request as if the user were authorized. This produces broken access control across confidentiality, integrity, and availability boundaries. Attackers can modify plugin state, alter store configuration data, or affect availability of e-commerce functionality on the affected site.
Root Cause
The root cause is a missing authorization check [CWE-862]. Plugin request handlers do not call WordPress capability functions such as current_user_can() before executing privileged operations. Nonce validation alone, if present, does not enforce role-based restrictions and cannot substitute for capability verification.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires network access to the target WordPress site and any authenticated session. The attacker submits HTTP requests to the vulnerable plugin endpoints while logged in as a low-privileged user, such as a subscriber or customer account. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's own authentication. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the specific request paths.
// No verified proof-of-concept is publicly available.
// Refer to the Patchstack advisory for technical specifics.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-44006
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to WooCommerce Multilingual plugin settings, translation data, or currency configuration entries within the WordPress database.
- HTTP POST or GET requests to plugin-specific admin-ajax.php actions or REST endpoints originating from accounts that hold only subscriber or customer roles.
- New or modified content records tied to low-privileged user IDs performing actions typically reserved for shop managers or administrators.
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress access logs for requests to WooCommerce Multilingual endpoints correlated with non-administrative session cookies.
- Compare the installed plugin version against 5.3.6 and prioritize any host still running an affected release.
- Enable and audit WordPress activity logging plugins to record capability-sensitive actions and identify unauthorized operations.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Alert on privilege-mismatch patterns where low-privileged accounts issue requests to plugin admin actions.
- Monitor for spikes in authenticated traffic to WooCommerce Multilingual AJAX handlers from a single account.
- Track plugin configuration and translation table changes and flag modifications outside change-management windows.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-44006
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin to version 5.3.7 or later on every WordPress installation where it is present.
- Audit user accounts and remove or downgrade unnecessary registrations, particularly self-registered subscriber and customer accounts.
- Review recent plugin configuration and content changes for signs of unauthorized modification prior to patching.
Patch Information
OnTheGoSystems addressed the issue in WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency 5.3.7. Administrators should apply the update through the WordPress plugin dashboard or by uploading the current release. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for advisory details.
Workarounds
- If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to WordPress /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and REST endpoints via a web application firewall rule set that requires administrator-level session context for plugin actions.
- Disable open user registration on affected stores until the plugin is updated.
- Temporarily deactivate the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin on non-production sites and any environments where the multilingual feature is not required.
# Update the vulnerable plugin using WP-CLI
wp plugin update woocommerce-multilingual --version=5.3.7
wp plugin list --name=woocommerce-multilingual --fields=name,status,version
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
