dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-5468

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
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 WordPress Header Builder Plugin – Pearl plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized site option deletion due to a missing validation and capability checks on the stm_hb_delete() function in all versions up to, and including, 1.3.7. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary options that can be used to perform a denial of service attack on a site.

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 WordPress Pearl Header Builder plugin contains a broken access control vulnerability in the stm_hb_delete() function, allowing unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary WordPress site options via an API endpoint lacking capability checks and nonce validation. This can cause denial of service by removing critical options such as siteurl, home, or active plugins.

MitigationUpdate to version 1.3.8 or later which includes proper capability checks and nonce verification; if no update is available, deactivate the plugin until a patch is released.

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
Low

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

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 Pearl Header Builder plugin is installed
    Log into WordPress admin panel and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, or check for the /wp-content/plugins/pearl-header-builder/ directory on the server
    Affected if The plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, find Pearl Header Builder in the plugins list and note the version number displayed; alternatively, check the main plugin file (usually header-builder.php) for the 'Version' header in the file comments
    Affected if The version is below 1.3.8 (versions 1.3.7 and earlier are affected)
  3. Confirm the vulnerable API endpoint is accessible
    Send a crafted request to /wp-json/stm-hb/v1/delete endpoint using a tool like curl: curl -X POST https://your-site.com/wp-json/stm-hb/v1/delete -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"option_name":"test"}'
    Affected if The endpoint responds without requiring authentication or returns an error indicating the route exists (any response other than 404 Not Found)
  4. Check WordPress options that could be targeted
    Query the wp_options table or navigate to Settings > General in WordPress admin to view siteurl and home option values; verify these critical options exist and are populated
    Affected if The siteurl, home, or active_plugins options can be deleted via the vulnerable endpoint, causing denial of service

A WordPress site is affected if the Pearl Header Builder plugin is installed with a version lower than 1.3.8 and the /wp-json/stm-hb/v1/delete endpoint is accessible without authentication.

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 to version 1.3.8 or later which includes proper capability checks and nonce verification; if no update is available, deactivate the plugin until a patch is released.

Recommended fix High confidence

Version 1.3.8 or later

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find the 'Pearl – WordPress Header Builder Plugin'
  4. Check if an update is available and update to version 1.3.8 or latest version
  5. Alternatively, manually download the updated plugin from wordpress.org and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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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-2024-5468 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