CVE-2026-3550
Missing Authorization in RockPress WordPress Plugin Allows Privilege Abuse
Publication date: 2026-03-20
Last updated on: 2026-03-20
Assigner: Wordfence
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| rockpress | rockpress_plugin | to 1.0.17 (inc) |
| ft_rockpress | rockpress | to 1.0.17 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-862 | The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
The RockPress plugin for WordPress, up to and including version 1.0.17, has a vulnerability due to missing authorization checks on several AJAX actions. These actions include rockpress_import, rockpress_import_status, rockpress_last_import, rockpress_reset_import, and rockpress_check_services.
The vulnerability arises because the plugin exposes a security nonce to all authenticated users via an admin script that is loaded on all admin pages without restrictions. The AJAX handlers only verify this nonce but do not check the user's capabilities (i.e., they do not verify if the user has sufficient permissions).
As a result, any authenticated user, even those with minimal privileges such as Subscribers, can extract the nonce from the admin page source and use it to trigger sensitive operations like starting import processes, resetting import data (which deletes options), checking service connectivity, and reading import status information. These operations should normally be restricted to administrators.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability allows any authenticated user, including those with low-level access such as Subscribers, to perform administrative actions that should be restricted.
- Trigger resource-intensive import operations, potentially impacting server performance.
- Reset import tracking data, which deletes important plugin options and may disrupt normal plugin operation.
- Perform system connection checks that should be limited to administrators.
Overall, this can lead to unauthorized manipulation of plugin data and operations, possible denial of service due to resource exhaustion, and exposure of internal status information.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
I don't know
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability involves missing authorization checks on multiple AJAX actions in the RockPress WordPress plugin, allowing any authenticated user to trigger import operations and reset import data. Detection involves monitoring for unauthorized AJAX requests to the following actions: rockpress_import, rockpress_import_status, rockpress_last_import, rockpress_reset_import, and rockpress_check_services.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Since the plugin exposes a nonce to all authenticated users via an admin script, an attacker with Subscriber-level access can extract this nonce from any admin page's HTML source and use it to perform unauthorized AJAX calls."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'To detect exploitation attempts on your system or network, you can monitor HTTP requests to the WordPress admin AJAX endpoint (usually /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php) for POST requests containing these specific actions.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Use web server logs or network monitoring tools to filter requests with the parameter 'action=rockpress_import' or other related actions."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Example command using grep on web server logs to find suspicious AJAX calls:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "grep 'admin-ajax.php' /var/log/apache2/access.log | grep -E 'action=rockpress_import|action=rockpress_import_status|action=rockpress_last_import|action=rockpress_reset_import|action=rockpress_check_services'"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Inspect the source of admin pages for the presence of the 'rockpress-nonce' value in the localized script 'rockpress-admin' to confirm if the nonce is exposed."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Use browser developer tools or curl to fetch an admin page (e.g., /wp-admin/profile.php) and search for 'rockpress-nonce' in the HTML source."}] [3]
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation steps focus on restricting unauthorized access to the vulnerable AJAX actions and preventing misuse of the exposed nonce.
- Update the RockPress plugin to a version later than 1.0.17 where the missing authorization checks are fixed.
- If an update is not immediately possible, restrict access to the WordPress admin area to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of Subscriber-level users exploiting the vulnerability.
- Implement additional server-side access controls or firewall rules to block or monitor suspicious AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with the vulnerable actions.
- As a temporary workaround, consider disabling or removing the RockPress plugin if its functionality is not critical.
- Audit user roles and permissions to ensure that only trusted users have authenticated access to the WordPress admin area.