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Social Networks Auto PosterWordPress extension · Nextscripts

CVE-2020-36831

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.3.18 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to missing capability checks on multiple user privilege/security functions provided in versions up to, and including 4.3.17. This makes it possible for low-privileged attackers, like subscribers, to perform restricted actions that would be otherwise locked to a administrative-level user.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster WordPress plugin lacks proper capability checks on several administrative functions, allowing authenticated users with subscriber-level privileges to execute actions restricted to administrators. This authorization bypass affects versions up to 4.3.17.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 4.3.18 or later. If no update is available, disable the plugin or implement manual capability checks (current_user_can()) on affected functions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Social Networks Auto PosterWordPress extension
Affected:< 4.3.18

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify the plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster' or check the filesystem under wp-content/plugins/ for the social-networks-auto-poster-seic folder
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active on the WordPress site
  2. Check the installed version
    In WordPress admin Plugins list, find the NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster entry and note the version number displayed, or read the version from the plugin's main PHP file header (typically social-networks-auto-poster-seic.php)
    Affected if The version number is lower than 4.3.18 (for example 4.3.17, 4.3.16, etc.)
  3. Identify subscriber-level user accounts
    In WordPress admin, go to Users and review the list for any users assigned the 'Subscriber' role, or query the wp_users and wp_usermeta tables checking for meta_value containing 'subscriber'
    Affected if There are one or more users with subscriber-level privileges registered on the site
  4. Confirm the plugin handles sensitive admin functions
    Review the plugin settings and capabilities - the vulnerability allows subscriber users to access administrative functions such as posting to social networks, managing API credentials, or triggering automated posts
    Affected if The plugin administrative functions are accessible without proper capability verification (which can be confirmed by testing with a subscriber account or code review of the plugin's admin PHP files)

You are affected if the NextScripts Social Networks Auto-Poster plugin versions below 4.3.18 is installed AND your site has subscriber-level user accounts that could exploit the missing capability checks.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.3.18 or later
Fixed in 4.3.18
Interim mitigation

Update the plugin to version 4.3.18 or later. If no update is available, disable the plugin or implement manual capability checks (current_user_can()) on affected functions.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.3.18

  1. Create a complete backup of your WordPress site and database before making any changes
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
  3. Find 'Social Networks Auto-Poster' (NextScripts) in the plugin list
  4. Click 'Update now' when update to version 4.3.18 is available, or manually upload version 4.3.18
  5. After updating, verify the plugin status shows version 4.3.18
  6. Test that subscriber-level accounts can no longer access admin-only functions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Social Networks Auto Poster Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-36831 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data