Administrator account creation via encrypted role tampering
Published Nov 21, 2022 · Updated Apr 30, 2025
Privilege escalation in weDevs WP User Frontend before 3.5.29 allows remote attackers to create Administrator accounts through registration. The process_registration handler decrypts the user-controlled urhidden field with AUTH_KEY and AUTH_SALT, then accepts the resulting role without restricting it to the configured registration role. Exploitation requires exposed registration plus the site's keys or unchanged default keys; success grants full WordPress administrative control.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in weDevs WP User Frontend before 3.5.29 allows remote attackers to create Administrator accounts through registration. The process_registration handler decrypts the user-controlled urhidden field with AUTH_KEY and AUTH_SALT, then accepts the resulting role without restricting it to the configured registration role. Exploitation requires exposed registration plus the site's keys or unchanged default keys; success grants full WordPress administrative control.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-24649
- Published
- Nov 21, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 30, 2025
- Vendor
- HappyAddons
- Product
- WP User Frontend
- Classifications
- T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 21, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 30, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <3.5.29
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Encrypted urhidden Administrator registration proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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