dbcve.org
ForumwpWordPress extension · Ultimatemember

CVE-2024-8428

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.0.2 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 2.0.2 via the submit_form_handler due to missing validation on the 'user_id' user controlled key. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to change the email address of administrative user accounts which can then be leveraged to reset the administrative users password and gain access to their account.

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 ForumWP WordPress plugin contains an IDOR vulnerability in submit_form_handler where authenticated subscribers can manipulate the user_id parameter to change email addresses of administrative user accounts. This enables privilege escalation by allowing low-privileged attackers to reset admin passwords via the modified email address.

MitigationUpdate to version 2.0.3 or later which includes proper authorization validation on the user_id parameter in submit_form_handler to prevent unauthorized profile modifications.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
ForumwpWordPress extension
Affected:<= 2.0.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Check ForumWP plugin version
    Navigate to WordPress Admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'Ultimatemember Forumwp' in the list. The version number is displayed below the plugin name. Alternatively, inspect the main plugin file (forumwp.php) in /wp-content/plugins/forumwp/ and look for the 'Version:' header in the file comments.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2.0.2 or lower.
  2. Verify ForumWP plugin is active
    In WordPress Admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, confirm that the ForumWP plugin has an 'Active' status indicator (usually a green 'Active' link or shaded activation toggle).
    Affected if The plugin is active and version is 2.0.2 or lower.
  3. Check for subscriber-level user accounts
    Navigate to WordPress Admin > Users and review the user list. Look for any user with the 'Subscriber' role assigned. Click on individual users to verify their role if not visible in the list view.
    Affected if At least one Subscriber-level user account exists in the WordPress installation.
  4. Confirm submit_form_handler is accessible
    Inspect the ForumWP plugin files, specifically looking for the submit_form_handler function within the plugin's main PHP files. Verify this handler processes form submissions and accepts a user_id parameter without proper authorization validation.
    Affected if The submit_form_handler function exists and processes user_id parameters without verifying the requesting user has permission to modify the target user's profile.

A user is affected if ForumWP plugin version 2.0.2 or lower is active AND at least one Subscriber-level user account exists, allowing that user to potentially modify administrative email addresses via the vulnerable submit_form_handler.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.0.2
Interim mitigation

Update to version 2.0.3 or later which includes proper authorization validation on the user_id parameter in submit_form_handler to prevent unauthorized profile modifications.

Recommended fix High confidence

ForumWP 2.0.3 or latest available version

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find the ForumWP plugin
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest secure version
  5. If no update is shown, deactivate the vulnerable plugin and install the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository manually
  6. After updating, verify that the plugin is functioning correctly

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

Fix this in Forumwp 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 the upgrade done

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

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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-2024-8428 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