CVE-2024-56225: Elementor Premium Addons Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2024-56225 Overview

CVE-2024-56225 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the Leap13 Premium Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 4.10.56. Authenticated attackers with low-level privileges can access plugin functionality that is not properly restricted by access control lists (ACLs). The issue is categorized under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization and stems from broken access control in plugin endpoints. Successful exploitation impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress site.

Critical Impact
Authenticated users with minimal privileges can invoke restricted plugin functionality, leading to unauthorized data access and site modification on WordPress installations running the affected plugin.

Affected Products

Leap13 Premium Addons for Elementor (WordPress plugin)
All versions from n/a through 4.10.56
WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin

Discovery Timeline

2024-12-31 - CVE-2024-56225 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-56225

Vulnerability Analysis

The Premium Addons for Elementor plugin exposes functionality through WordPress AJAX or REST endpoints without enforcing sufficient capability or nonce validation. An authenticated user with low privileges, such as a subscriber or contributor, can call these endpoints and reach operations intended for administrators or editors.

Broken access control vulnerabilities in Elementor addon plugins commonly allow tampering with widget configurations, template data, or plugin settings. Because WordPress environments frequently issue subscriber accounts through open registration or WooCommerce, the barrier to reaching the vulnerable code path is low.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing authorization checks on server-side handlers. The plugin registers callable actions without verifying the caller's WordPress capabilities via current_user_can() or without validating the request context with proper nonces. This falls under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the WordPress site and a valid low-privilege authenticated session. The attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the plugin's exposed action handlers to invoke restricted functionality. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's own authenticated request.

A verified proof-of-concept is not publicly documented. See the Patchstack advisory for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-56225

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected POST requests from low-privileged accounts to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php referencing Premium Addons actions such as those prefixed with pa_ or premium_.
Unauthorized modifications to Elementor templates, widgets, or plugin option values in the wp_options table.
New or altered plugin settings that were not made by an administrator account.

Detection Strategies

Audit WordPress access logs for authenticated requests to plugin AJAX or REST endpoints originating from subscriber, contributor, or customer roles.
Correlate WordPress user activity with configuration changes by monitoring the wp_options, wp_postmeta, and Elementor data tables.
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to flag calls to Premium Addons endpoints from non-privileged sessions.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized SIEM to identify anomalous privileged-action patterns tied to low-privilege sessions.
Enable file integrity monitoring on wp-content/plugins/premium-addons-for-elementor/ and Elementor template exports.
Track user role and capability changes for accounts created after plugin installation.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-56225

Immediate Actions Required

Update Premium Addons for Elementor to a release after 4.10.56 that contains the vendor's authorization fix.
Disable the plugin if a patched version cannot be applied immediately.
Review and remove unnecessary low-privilege user accounts, especially those created through open registration.

Patch Information

The vendor released a fixed version subsequent to 4.10.56. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability advisory and the plugin listing on the WordPress.org plugin directory for the current release. Apply the update through the WordPress admin dashboard or via WP-CLI.

Workarounds

Restrict access to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php for low-privileged roles using a WAF or reverse proxy rule until the patch is deployed.
Disable open user registration under Settings → General to reduce the pool of authenticated attackers.
Enforce strong role-based access control and remove elevated capabilities that are not required for daily operations.

bash

# Update the plugin using WP-CLI
wp plugin update premium-addons-for-elementor

# Verify the installed version is above 4.10.56
wp plugin get premium-addons-for-elementor --field=version

# Optional: deactivate the plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate premium-addons-for-elementor