dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-12028

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-06
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 Friends plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on several REST API endpoints in all versions up to, and including, 3.2.1. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send arbitrary friend requests on behalf of another website, accept the friend request for the targeted website, and then communicate with the site as an accepted friend.

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 · moderate confidence

The Friends plugin for WordPress versions up to 3.2.1 lacks proper capability checks on multiple REST API endpoints, allowing unauthenticated attackers to send and accept friend requests on behalf of legitimate users, thereby gaining unauthorized communication access to the site as an accepted friend.

MitigationUpdate the Friends plugin to version 3.2.2 or later which includes proper capability checks on the affected REST API endpoints.

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 Friends plugin is installed
    Check if the Friends plugin directory exists in wp-content/plugins/ and list its files
    Affected if The plugin directory exists in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify installed Friends plugin version
    Open the main plugin file (friends.php or similar) in wp-content/plugins/friends/ and read the Version header from the plugin comment block, or check readme.txt for the version field
    Affected if The version listed is 3.2.1 or lower (any version up to and including 3.2.1)
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    Check WordPress database wp_options table for option_name 'active_plugins' and verify 'friends/friends.php' is present, or check via WordPress admin plugins list
    Affected if The Friends plugin appears in the list of active plugins
  4. Test REST API endpoint accessibility
    Send a GET request to /wp-json/friends/v1/ endpoint (or check available routes via /wp-json/) without authentication and without providing valid user credentials
    Affected if The API returns successful responses without requiring proper capability verification (the vulnerability exists when unauthenticated requests are accepted)
  5. Check for unauthorized friend requests
    Review the wp_friends_requests database table (or equivalent) for any unexpected friend requests created without proper user authentication or authorization
    Affected if Friend requests exist that were not initiated by the legitimate account owner through proper authentication

A user is affected if the Friends plugin version is 3.2.1 or earlier AND the plugin is active in their WordPress installation, allowing potential unauthorized friend request manipulation via the REST API.

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 Friends plugin to version 3.2.2 or later which includes proper capability checks on the affected REST API endpoints.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Friends plugin version 3.2.2 or higher

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find the Friends plugin and check if updates are available
  4. Update the Friends plugin to the latest version (version 3.2.2 or higher)
  5. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

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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-2024-12028 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