dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-13801

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
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 BWL Advanced FAQ Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to a denial of service due to a missing capability check on the 'baf_set_notice_status' AJAX action in all versions up to, and including, 2.1.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update option values to '1' on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update an option that would create an error on the site and deny service to legitimate users or be used to set some values to true such as registration.

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 BWL Advanced FAQ Manager WordPress plugin lacks a capability check on the 'baf_set_notice_status' AJAX action, allowing any authenticated user with Subscriber-level access or higher to update arbitrary WordPress options to '1'. This broken access control vulnerability enables attackers to modify site settings, potentially causing denial of service through invalid option values or enabling sensitive features like user registration.

MitigationAdd a capability check (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) and proper nonce validation to the 'baf_set_notice_status' AJAX handler. Verify if a patched version exists beyond 2.1.4, and consider disabling the plugin until a fix is available.

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

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 if BWL Advanced FAQ Manager plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'bwl-advanced-faq-manager' or similar, and examine the main plugin file header for the version number.
    Affected if The plugin is found and the version is 2.1.4 or lower (or version cannot be determined).
  2. Locate the vulnerable AJAX handler
    Search the plugin files for the string 'baf_set_notice_status' to identify the AJAX action handler function.
    Affected if The function 'baf_set_notice_status' or its hook 'wp_ajax_baf_set_notice_status' exists in the plugin code.
  3. Inspect the AJAX handler for capability checks
    Examine the PHP code of the identified handler function and verify whether it calls a function like 'current_user_can()' with a privileged capability (e.g., 'manage_options') before performing the option update.
    Affected if No capability check (or a weak check like 'edit_posts') is found before the option update logic.
  4. Check for proper nonce validation
    Look for nonce verification (e.g., 'check_ajax_referer' or 'wp_verify_nonce') within the AJAX handler function.
    Affected if No nonce validation is present in the handler.
  5. Test access with low-privilege account (if authorized)
    Using an authenticated session with Subscriber-level access, send a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=baf_set_notice_status and a test option name/value to observe if the option is modified.
    Affected if The request succeeds and the specified WordPress option is set to '1' without error.

You are affected if the BWL Advanced FAQ Manager plugin is installed at version 2.1.4 or below and the 'baf_set_notice_status' AJAX handler lacks a capability check allowing any authenticated user to modify arbitrary options.

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

Add a capability check (e.g., current_user_can('manage_options')) and proper nonce validation to the 'baf_set_notice_status' AJAX handler. Verify if a patched version exists beyond 2.1.4, and consider disabling the plugin until a fix is available.

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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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-2024-13801 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