dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-12176

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-07
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 WordLift – AI powered SEO – Schema plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on the 'wl_config_plugin' AJAX action in all versions up to, and including, 3.54.2. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to update the plugin's settings.

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 WordLift WordPress plugin lacks a capability check on the 'wl_config_plugin' AJAX action, allowing any unauthenticated user to invoke it and modify plugin settings. This is a broken access control vulnerability where the AJAX endpoint does not verify user permissions before processing configuration updates.

MitigationUpdate WordLift plugin to version 3.54.3 or later which includes proper capability checks on the affected AJAX action. Until then, consider disabling or restricting the plugin if possible.

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 WordLift plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress Admin > Plugins and look for WordLift in the list of installed plugins, or check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'wordlift'
    Affected if WordLift plugin is present in the installation
  2. Determine installed WordLift version
    In WordPress Admin > Plugins, find WordLift and note the version number displayed, or inspect the main plugin file header in /wp-content/plugins/wordlift/wordlift.php for the 'Version' field
    Affected if Version is lower than 3.54.3 (vulnerable versions)
  3. Confirm the vulnerable AJAX endpoint is accessible
    Send a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=wl_config_plugin (no authentication headers) using curl or a similar tool: curl -X POST http://TARGET/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php -d 'action=wl_config_plugin'
    Affected if The server returns a response without requiring authentication (status 200) rather than a 403 or login redirect
  4. Check if WordLift settings can be modified unauthenticated
    Submit a configuration change via the AJAX endpoint without auth cookies, such as: curl -X POST http://TARGET/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php -d 'action=wl_config_plugin&key=test&value=test'
    Affected if The request succeeds and returns a successful JSON response indicating settings were processed without auth errors
  5. Review server-side capability implementation
    If code access is available, inspect the PHP file handling wl_config_plugin (typically in wordlift/includes/class-wordlift-ajax-service.php or similar) to verify if current_user_capability() or a permission callback is present before processing
    Affected if No capability check (like 'manage_options') is found before processing the configuration request

A user is affected if WordLift plugin version is below 3.54.3 AND the wl_config_plugin AJAX action accepts unauthenticated requests and processes configuration updates without authorization.

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 WordLift plugin to version 3.54.3 or later which includes proper capability checks on the affected AJAX action. Until then, consider disabling or restricting the plugin if possible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

3.54.3 or later

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate WordLift – AI powered SEO – Schema plugin
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version
  5. Alternatively, navigate to Dashboard > Updates and select WordLift plugin to update
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version (should be 3.54.3 or higher)

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-12176 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