dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-55998

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-16
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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Eric Sloan Popup Surveys & Polls for WordPress (Mare.io) popup-surveys allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Popup Surveys & Polls for WordPress (Mare.io): from n/a through <= 1.36.

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 · moderate confidence

This is a missing authorization vulnerability in the WordPress plugin 'Popup Surveys & Polls for WordPress (Mare.io)' that allows exploiting incorrectly configured access control security levels. The plugin fails to properly validate user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality, potentially enabling lower-privileged users to perform actions that should require higher privileges.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to the latest patched version once released. Until then, restrict access to the affected plugin functionality and monitor for unauthorized access attempts. Implementing proper capability checks and nonce validation in the plugin code will be required for a complete fix.

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
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 the Mare.io plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Popup Surveys & Polls for WordPress (Mare.io)' or check the wp-content/plugins directory for a folder containing 'mare' or 'popup-survey'. If using WP-CLI, run: wp plugin list --name='mare' or ls wp-content/plugins/ | grep -i mare
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active in the WordPress environment
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin_plugins list view, find the Mare.io plugin and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, read the main plugin PHP file header in wp-content/plugins/[plugin-folder]/[main-file].php and look for the 'Version:' tag
    Affected if The installed version falls within any known vulnerable version range (compare against the plugin's changelog or security advisory)
  3. Check user role assignments
    Navigate to WordPress Users > All Users and review which users exist. Identify any users assigned roles below Administrator (such as Editor, Author, Contributor, or Subscriber). These lower-privileged accounts could potentially exploit the missing authorization if the vulnerability allows privilege escalation
    Affected if Non-administrator user accounts exist in the WordPress installation who should not have access to admin-level plugin functions
  4. Verify plugin access control configuration
    Access the plugin settings panel (usually under Settings > Mare.io or a dedicated Mare.io menu item) and review any access control, capability, or permission settings. Check if the plugin allows configuring which user roles can access survey/poll management features
    Affected if The plugin permits configuration that grants lower-privileged users access to functionality that should be restricted to administrators
  5. Inspect plugin capability checks
    Examine the plugin's main PHP files for capability checks. Look for functions like current_user_can(), wp_get_current_user(), or role checks. Search for missing or inadequate checks before sensitive operations. Use grep: grep -r 'current_user_can' wp-content/plugins/[plugin-folder]/
    Affected if The plugin code lacks proper capability checks before executing privileged operations, or uses weak checks that allow lower roles to bypass authorization

The environment is affected if the Mare.io plugin is installed and has non-administrator users who could potentially access admin-level functionality due to missing or inadequate permission validation in the plugin code.

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 the plugin to the latest patched version once released. Until then, restrict access to the affected plugin functionality and monitor for unauthorized access attempts. Implementing proper capability checks and nonce validation in the plugin code will be required for a complete fix.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 1.37 or latest available version

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find 'Popup Surveys & Polls for WordPress (Mare.io)'
  4. Click 'Update now' if an update is available, or manually update to the latest version
  5. Verify the plugin version is greater than 1.36 after updating

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,380
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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-2024-55998 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