Executive Summary

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "CVE-2026-1271 is a vulnerability in the ProfileGrid WordPress plugin that affects versions up to and including 5.9.7.2. It involves an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) issue in the handling of user profile and cover image uploads via AJAX actions 'pm_upload_image' and 'pm_upload_cover_image'."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "The vulnerability arises because the function update_user_meta() is called without proper user authorization checks in the files crop.php and coverimg_crop.php. This allows authenticated users with Subscriber-level access or higher to change any user's profile picture or cover image, including those of administrators."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Technically, the plugin handles image uploads, cropping, resizing, and saving with some authorization and validation checks, such as restricting file types and validating image dimensions. However, due to insufficient or misplaced authorization checks around updating user metadata, attackers can manipulate profile images of other users.'}] [2, 3, 5]

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with at least Subscriber-level access to change the profile picture or cover image of any user on the WordPress site, including administrators.

Such unauthorized changes can lead to impersonation, defacement, or social engineering attacks by displaying misleading or malicious images on user profiles.

While the vulnerability does not directly affect confidentiality or availability (CVSS indicates no confidentiality or availability impact), it impacts integrity by allowing unauthorized modification of user profile data.

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Detection of this vulnerability involves monitoring and inspecting AJAX requests related to the ProfileGrid WordPress plugin, specifically those targeting the 'pm_upload_image' and 'pm_upload_cover_image' actions."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'You can look for suspicious POST requests to the endpoints handling image uploads and cropping, particularly those that attempt to modify user profile or cover images without proper authorization.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "On the server hosting the WordPress site, you can check for unusual modifications to user meta fields related to profile images, such as 'pm_user_avatar' or cover image attachments."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Use web server access logs to filter requests containing 'pm_upload_image' or 'pm_upload_cover_image' in the request URI."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Example command to search Apache or Nginx logs for these actions: `grep -i 'pm_upload_image' /var/log/apache2/access.log` or `grep -i 'pm_upload_cover_image' /var/log/nginx/access.log`"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Monitor for POST requests where the user ID in the POST data does not match the authenticated user, which could indicate exploitation attempts.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "If you have access to the WordPress database, query the user meta table for unexpected changes to profile image meta keys, for example: `SELECT * FROM wp_usermeta WHERE meta_key IN ('pm_user_avatar', 'pm_cover_image') ORDER BY meta_id DESC LIMIT 100;`"}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, enabling WordPress debug logging or using security plugins that monitor file uploads and user meta changes can help detect exploitation attempts.'}] [1, 2, 3, 5]

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Mitigation Strategies

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate steps include:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Update the ProfileGrid plugin to a version later than 5.9.7.2 where the vulnerability is fixed.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Restrict access to the affected AJAX actions ('pm_upload_image' and 'pm_upload_cover_image') to only authorized users by applying proper user authorization checks."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Temporarily disable or restrict the ProfileGrid plugin's image upload and cropping features if an update cannot be immediately applied."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block unauthorized POST requests attempting to exploit these AJAX actions.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Review and harden user permissions in WordPress to ensure that Subscriber-level users cannot perform unauthorized profile modifications.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Monitoring and logging should be enhanced to detect any exploitation attempts, and backups should be taken before applying updates or changes.'}] [1, 2, 3, 5]

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