CVE-2024-6695: Profile Builder Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2024-6695 Overview

CVE-2024-6695 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability affecting the Cozmoslabs Profile Builder plugin for WordPress. The vulnerability enables attackers to gain administrative access to WordPress sites without having any account on the targeted site. This flaw exists due to improper logic flow in the user registration process, which can be exploited to perform unauthorized administrative actions.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can achieve full administrative access to WordPress installations using the vulnerable Profile Builder plugin, potentially leading to complete site compromise.

Affected Products

• Cozmoslabs Profile Builder (WordPress Plugin)

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-07-31 - CVE-2024-6695 published to NVD
• 2026-01-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-6695

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), indicating a failure to properly verify user permissions during the registration workflow. The Profile Builder plugin, which manages user registration and profile management for WordPress sites, contains flawed logic in its user registration process that allows privilege escalation.

The exploitation of this vulnerability requires no prior authentication or user interaction. An attacker can remotely target any WordPress installation running the vulnerable plugin version, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for publicly accessible WordPress sites. The vulnerability can lead to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress installation.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-6695 lies in the improper logic flow within the user registration process of the Profile Builder plugin. The registration workflow fails to properly validate and enforce role assignments during account creation, allowing attackers to manipulate the registration flow to obtain elevated privileges. This is a classic authorization bypass where the plugin does not adequately verify that the requested user role matches the permitted roles for new registrations.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and can be executed remotely without any authentication. An attacker exploits the flawed registration logic by manipulating requests during the user registration process to assign administrative privileges to the newly created account.

The exploitation flow involves:

1. Accessing the WordPress site's registration functionality provided by Profile Builder
2. Manipulating the registration request parameters to inject administrative role assignments
3. Bypassing the authorization checks due to improper logic flow validation
4. Gaining full administrative access to the WordPress site

For detailed technical analysis, refer to the WPScan Vulnerability Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-6695

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected new user accounts with administrative privileges appearing in the WordPress user database
• Anomalous registration activity patterns, especially from unfamiliar IP addresses
• Unusual administrative actions performed by newly created accounts
• WordPress audit logs showing privilege escalation during registration events

Detection Strategies

• Monitor WordPress user creation events for accounts receiving administrative roles outside of normal administrative processes
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious registration request patterns
• Review server access logs for unusual POST requests to registration endpoints with manipulated parameters
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions to monitor for unauthorized changes to WordPress configuration files

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the Profile Builder plugin and WordPress user management functions
• Configure alerts for any new administrator account creation
• Implement real-time monitoring of user role assignment changes
• Regularly audit the WordPress user database for unauthorized administrative accounts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-6695

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Cozmoslabs Profile Builder plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• Audit existing WordPress user accounts to identify and remove any unauthorized administrative accounts
• Review WordPress audit logs for signs of exploitation
• Consider temporarily disabling the Profile Builder plugin until patching is complete if immediate update is not possible

Patch Information

Organizations using the Cozmoslabs Profile Builder plugin should update to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability. The update should be obtained through the official WordPress plugin repository or directly from Cozmoslabs. For technical details about the vulnerability and affected versions, consult the WPScan Advisory.

Workarounds

• Temporarily disable user registration functionality if the plugin cannot be immediately updated
• Implement additional authorization controls at the web server or WAF level to restrict registration endpoint access
• Use WordPress security plugins to add extra validation layers to the registration process
• Restrict network access to the WordPress admin and registration endpoints to trusted IP ranges where feasible

# WordPress maintenance commands
# Disable user registration via WP-CLI while patching
wp option update users_can_register 0

# List all administrators to audit for unauthorized accounts
wp user list --role=administrator --format=table

# Check Profile Builder plugin version
wp plugin list --name=profile-builder --format=table