Description

Missing Authorization vulnerability in Ashok Dudhat WP Event Manager wp-event-manager allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects WP Event Manager: from n/a through 3.4.1.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.4",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-09T12:17:11.080Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-09T12:17:11.080Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The WP Event Manager plugin for WordPress, developed by Ashok Dudhat, is vulnerable to a missing authorization security flaw in versions up to and including 3.4.1. This vulnerability arises from incorrectly configured access control security levels within the plugin's underlying codebase. Consequently, unauthorized actors can exploit these misconfigured verification checks to execute restricted plugin features or modify event-related configurations.\nIn a typical deployment, administrative operations should be strictly confined to authenticated users with elevated privileges. However, due to the absence of robust capability enforcement, attackers can bypass these intended security boundaries. The impact of successful exploitation is significant: it allows remote, potentially unauthenticated attackers to alter critical event data, access restricted administrative utilities, and compromise the overall integrity of the WordPress application hosting the plugin. To exploit this flaw, an attacker only requires network access to the target site's public-facing interface, necessitating zero prior authentication or administrative privileges depending on the exact endpoint exposed.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper implementation of access control checks inside the endpoint handlers of the WP Event Manager plugin (versions n/a through 3.4.1). In the WordPress ecosystem, plugins often register administrative actions via AJAX handlers (using wp_ajax_ and wp_ajax_nopriv_ hooks) or custom REST API routes. Secure development practices dictate that every callback function associated with these endpoints must verify the request's authenticity and the user's authorization level before executing state-changing logic.\nIn the vulnerable versions of WP Event Manager, certain critical endpoints fail to execute these necessary validation routines. Specifically, the code does not invoke native WordPress authorization functions, such as current_user_can(), which evaluate whether the current session holds the required administrative or manager-level privileges. Furthermore, the application fails to adequately validate cryptographic tokens (nonces) via check_ajax_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(), making the endpoints susceptible to cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and direct request manipulation.\nAn attack flow targeting this vulnerability typically unfolds as follows: First, the attacker scans the target WordPress site to confirm the presence of the WP Event Manager plugin and verifies that the installed version is 3.4.1 or lower. Next, the attacker crafts a malicious HTTP POST or GET request directed at the vulnerable administrative endpoint, such as admin-ajax.php or a specific REST route associated with the plugin. The crafted request contains parameters designed to trigger sensitive administrative operations, such as modifying event lists, changing global plugin settings, or executing database interactions, without providing an active administrator session token.\nOnce the server receives the request, it routes it to the corresponding callback handler. Because the handler lacks explicit capability and authorization verification, it processes the malicious payload under the assumption that the request is legitimate. This leads to unauthorized changes to the system state, resulting in data modification, defacement of event listings, or potential escalation of privileges depending on the nature of the exposed functionality.\nAdditionally, the absence of strict input validation on these unprotected endpoints exacerbates the severity of the vulnerability. When authorization is missing, any input parameters accepted by the callback function are executed with the permissions of the web server or the plugin's context. This allows attackers to not only bypass access controls but potentially inject malicious payloads into the database or alter site-wide event parameters. Because the vulnerability lies within the core controller architecture of the wp-event-manager plugin, standard web application firewalls may not block these requests unless specifically configured with virtual patches targeting the exact AJAX actions utilized by the plugin."
}