dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-13637

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 Demo Awesome plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the install_plugin function in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to install and activate arbitrary plugins..

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 Demo Awesome WordPress plugin (versions up to 1.0.3) lacks proper capability validation on the install_plugin function, allowing any authenticated user with Subscriber-level access or higher to install and activate arbitrary plugins. This Broken Access Control vulnerability enables privilege escalation and complete site compromise.

MitigationUpdate to the latest version of Demo Awesome plugin when available, or remove the plugin entirely if unused. Implement proper capability checks (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) on all sensitive functions.

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
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. Confirm Demo Awesome plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress Admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Demo Awesome' in the list, or check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'demo-awesome' or similar
    Affected if The Demo Awesome plugin appears in the installed plugins list
  2. Identify the installed version
    In WordPress Admin, click on the plugin name to view its details and note the version number displayed, or open the main plugin PHP file (usually in wp-content/plugins/demo-awesome/) and check the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block
    Affected if The version listed is 1.0.3 or any version up to 1.0.3 inclusive
  3. Verify the vulnerable function exists
    Access the WordPress site via FTP or file manager, locate the main plugin file for Demo Awesome, and search for the string 'install_plugin' function definition or AJAX handler
    Affected if The function named install_plugin or a hook handling plugin installation is present in the plugin code
  4. Check for missing capability checks
    Examine the code around the install_plugin function and look for current_user_can() calls with elevated privileges (such as 'manage_options') before executing plugin installation logic
    Affected if No capability check or only a low-level check (like 'read') is found before the install_plugin functionality executes
  5. Test plugin installation permission (if authorized)
    Using a test account with only Subscriber-level access, attempt to access any AJAX endpoint or admin page that triggers plugin installation functionality (requires authorization and should only be done in controlled test environments)
    Affected if A Subscriber-level user can successfully trigger plugin installation without receiving a permission denied error

A user is affected if the Demo Awesome plugin version 1.0.3 or lower is installed AND the install_plugin function exists without proper current_user_can('manage_options') checks around it.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to the latest version of Demo Awesome plugin when available, or remove the plugin entirely if unused. Implement proper capability checks (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) on all sensitive functions.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-13637 — 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-2024-13637 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