dbcve.org
Improper AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-285

CVE-2020-36841

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on the woocommerce_coupon_admin_init function in versions up to, and including, 4.6.0. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send themselves gift certificates of any value, which could be redeemed for products sold on the victim’s storefront.

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 WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin versions up to 4.6.0 lack a capability check on the woocommerce_coupon_admin_init function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to invoke admin-level coupon creation functions. This authorization bypass enables attackers to generate arbitrary gift certificates of any value and send them to themselves for redemption on the victim's store.

MitigationUpdate the WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin to version 4.6.1 or later, which includes the missing capability check to enforce proper authorization on the vulnerable function.

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

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin is installed
    Log into the WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Look for 'WooCommerce Smart Coupons' in the list of active plugins.
    Affected if The plugin is present and active in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    In the WordPress plugins list, click on the plugin name or view the plugin file headers. The version number is typically displayed in the plugins table or in the main plugin PHP file comments (often includes 'Version: x.x.x' in the header block).
    Affected if A version number is returned that falls within the affected range (any version up to and including 4.6.0)
  3. Compare version against the vulnerable range
    If you have CLI access, you can also check the plugin header via grep: grep -r 'Version:' wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-smart-coupons/ or check composer.json if the plugin was installed via Composer.
    Affected if The installed version is 4.6.0 or lower (any version up to 4.6.0 is affected)
  4. Review for unauthorized gift certificate creation
    Check the WooCommerce coupons list (WooCommerce > Coupons) for any recently created coupons or gift certificates that were not created by legitimate administrators. Look for unexpected entries with unusual values or suspicious recipient email addresses.
    Affected if Coupons or gift certificates exist that were not created by authorized admin users, especially if created around the time of potential exploitation

A user is affected if the WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin is installed with any version up to 4.6.0 (inclusive), as this version range lacks the capability check that enforces proper authorization on the woocommerce_coupon_admin_init function.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin to version 4.6.1 or later, which includes the missing capability check to enforce proper authorization on the vulnerable function.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade WooCommerce Smart Coupons to version 4.6.1 or later (latest available version recommended)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the WooCommerce Smart Coupons plugin
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest version
  5. Alternatively, you can manually download the latest version from wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce-smart-coupons/ and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  6. After updating, verify the version is greater than 4.6.0

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-36841 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2020-36841 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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