CVE-2024-56276: WPForms Authorization Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2024-56276 Overview

CVE-2024-56276 is a missing authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] affecting the Contact Form by WPForms (wpforms-lite) WordPress plugin developed by Syed Balkhi. The flaw exists in versions up to and including 1.9.2.2. The plugin fails to enforce proper access control checks on privileged actions, allowing authenticated users with low privileges to invoke functions restricted to higher-privileged roles. Successful exploitation compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress site. WPForms Lite is deployed on millions of WordPress installations, expanding the attack surface across the ecosystem.

Critical Impact
A low-privileged authenticated attacker can exploit incorrectly configured access control levels over the network to gain elevated control of WPForms functionality, leading to high impact on data confidentiality, integrity, and site availability.

Affected Products

Contact Form by WPForms (wpforms-lite) — all versions through 1.9.2.2
WordPress sites running the WPForms Lite plugin
Deployments where subscriber-level or higher authenticated access is available

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-07 - CVE-2024-56276 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-56276

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability originates in the WPForms Lite plugin's failure to validate user capabilities before executing sensitive operations. Under WordPress conventions, privileged actions must verify the requester's role through current_user_can() checks or equivalent capability gates. WPForms Lite omits or misconfigures these checks on one or more action handlers exposed to authenticated users.

An attacker holding any authenticated session, including low-privileged accounts such as subscribers, can invoke these unprotected handlers. The plugin processes the request as if the caller were authorized, producing effects reserved for administrators or form editors.

Because WPForms manages form submissions, entries, notifications, and integrations, unauthorized access to its administrative surface can expose stored submission data, alter form logic, or disrupt site operations.

Root Cause

The root cause is a broken access control pattern classified as [CWE-862] Missing Authorization. Action endpoints — likely AJAX handlers or admin-post routes — do not enforce the correct capability level before performing privileged operations. The plugin relies on authentication alone without verifying authorization scope for the requested action.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the target WordPress site and a valid low-privileged account. The attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable WPForms action endpoints. No user interaction from an administrator is required. The unauthenticated boundary is not the entry point; the flaw is exploitable through the authenticated request path exposed by WordPress role handling.

Detailed technical analysis is documented in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-56276

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected WPForms administrative actions originating from subscriber or non-administrator accounts in WordPress activity logs.
Anomalous admin-ajax.php or admin-post.php requests referencing WPForms actions from low-privileged user sessions.
Modifications to form configurations, entries, or integrations without a corresponding administrator login event.
New or altered form submissions, notification recipients, or connected third-party endpoints without change tickets.

Detection Strategies

Audit WordPress user roles and correlate WPForms plugin actions against the acting user's capability level.
Deploy a WordPress-aware web application firewall rule to flag WPForms AJAX endpoints invoked by non-privileged roles.
Review database wp_options and WPForms-specific tables for unauthorized configuration changes.
Compare installed WPForms Lite plugin version against the fixed release across all managed WordPress sites.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose WordPress and plugin logging to capture user ID, capability, and action for each WPForms request.
Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized analytics platform for role-based anomaly detection.
Alert on privilege-sensitive plugin actions performed by accounts that recently registered or self-provisioned.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-56276

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Contact Form by WPForms (wpforms-lite) plugin to the version released after 1.9.2.2 that addresses this issue.
Inventory all WordPress deployments and identify hosts running vulnerable WPForms Lite versions.
Disable open user registration or restrict registration to trusted domains until patching is complete.
Review WordPress user accounts and remove unused or unrecognized low-privileged users.

Patch Information

The vendor has addressed the issue in a release subsequent to 1.9.2.2. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the specific fixed version and apply the update through the WordPress plugin manager or via automated update tooling.

Workarounds

Deactivate the WPForms Lite plugin until the patched version is installed if immediate updating is not feasible.
Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and wp-admin/admin-post.php for non-administrator roles using web application firewall rules.
Enforce least-privilege role assignments and disable self-service account creation on affected sites.

bash

# Update WPForms Lite via WP-CLI to the patched release
wp plugin update wpforms-lite

# Verify installed version is beyond 1.9.2.2
wp plugin get wpforms-lite --field=version

# If patching is delayed, deactivate the plugin
wp plugin deactivate wpforms-lite