dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-12253

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
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 Simple Ecommerce Shopping Cart Plugin- Sell products through Paypal plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on the 'save_settings', 'export_csv', and 'simpleecommcart-action' actions in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.2. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to update the plugins settings and retrieve order and log data (which is also accessible to unauthenticated users).

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

This WordPress plugin suffers from broken access control due to missing capability checks on AJAX actions ('save_settings', 'export_csv', 'simpleecommcart-action'). Any authenticated user with subscriber-level access can modify plugin settings and exfiltrate sensitive order and customer data. Additionally, order/log data is directly accessible to unauthenticated users, indicating widespread access control failures across multiple endpoints.

MitigationUpgrade to version 3.1.3 or later which addresses these authorization gaps. Immediately restrict access to sensitive AJAX endpoints and verify that all plugin settings modifications require administrator-level permissions.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Identify the plugin and its installed version
    Check the plugin directory in wp-content/plugins/ for an e-commerce cart plugin (commonly named 'simple-e-commerce-cart' or similar). Look for a version.php file or check the plugin header in the main PHP file to determine the installed version number.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.1.3 or cannot be determined (indicating an unpatched release).
  2. Verify AJAX action accessibility for subscriber users
    As a user with subscriber-level role (the lowest WordPress role), attempt to access or trigger the AJAX endpoints: wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=save_settings, wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=export_csv, and wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=simpleecommcart-action. Check if these requests are processed without returning a capability error.
    Affected if The AJAX actions return successful responses (not 403/401 errors) when called by a subscriber-level user, indicating missing capability checks.
  3. Check unauthenticated access to order/log endpoints
    Access common order or log URLs directly without logging in. Typical paths may include /?page=simple-ecomm-cart-orders, /?page=simple-ecommcart-log, or similar endpoints that expose order data. Inspect HTTP response for actual data rather than a login redirect.
    Affected if Order details, customer information, or log data are returned to unauthenticated (logged-out) users without requiring authentication.
  4. Inspect plugin capability requirements in source code
    If you have file access, examine the PHP files handling the AJAX actions (save_settings, export_csv, simpleecommcart-action). Look for current_user_can() or capability checks before executing sensitive operations.
    Affected if No capability checks (or checks for very low privileges like 'read') are found before settings modifications or data exports.

You are affected if the plugin version is below 3.1.3 AND either subscriber-level users can access the AJAX actions OR unauthenticated users can view order/log data without login.

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

Upgrade to version 3.1.3 or later which addresses these authorization gaps. Immediately restrict access to sensitive AJAX endpoints and verify that all plugin settings modifications require administrator-level permissions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update to the latest available version of the plugin (version 3.1.3 or higher)

  1. Check the WordPress plugin repository for the Simple Ecommerce Shopping Cart Plugin for the latest version
  2. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins
  3. Locate the Simple Ecommerce Shopping Cart Plugin
  4. If an update is available, update to the latest version (likely 3.1.3 or higher)
  5. Verify the update was successful
  6. Review plugin settings to ensure no unauthorized changes were made
Caveat Review plugin settings and test checkout functionality after updating

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2024-12253 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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