Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover in ProfileGrid WordPress Plugin

Mitigation Strategies

The vulnerability affects all versions of the ProfileGrid plugin up to and including 5.9.9.5. Immediate mitigation steps include updating the ProfileGrid plugin to a version later than 5.9.9.5 where the issue is fixed.

Additionally, monitoring and restricting access to user registration forms and ensuring that user_login parameters are properly validated can help reduce risk.

Since the vulnerability allows privilege escalation via account takeover, it is also advisable to review administrator accounts for unauthorized changes, especially changes to email addresses, and reset passwords if suspicious activity is detected.

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Executive Summary

The ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities plugin for WordPress has a vulnerability that allows privilege escalation through account takeover. This happens because the plugin does not validate the 'user_login' parameter on registration forms that lack it and does not properly handle error messages.

As a result, an unauthenticated attacker can change the email address of the user account with ID=1, which is usually an administrator account. After changing the email, the attacker can reset the administrator's password and gain access to that account.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have severe impacts because it allows an attacker to gain administrative access to a WordPress site without authentication.

• Complete compromise of the website through administrator account takeover.
• Potential unauthorized changes to website content, settings, and user data.
• Loss of control over the site, which could lead to further exploitation or malicious activities.
• High impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

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