CVE-2020-36156 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

An issue was discovered in the Ultimate Member plugin before 2.1.12 for WordPress, allowing authenticated users to escalate their privileges via a profile update.

Understanding CVE-2020-36156

This CVE involves an authenticated privilege escalation vulnerability in the Ultimate Member plugin for WordPress.

What is CVE-2020-36156?

The vulnerability allows any user with wp-admin access to the profile.php page to manipulate the um-role parameter during a profile update, granting them unauthorized privileges, such as Administrator role.

The Impact of CVE-2020-36156

The impact is rated as critical with a CVSS base score of 9.9, indicating high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-36156

This section provides more technical insights into the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue in the Ultimate Member plugin before 2.1.12 for WordPress enables authenticated users to perform privilege escalation by modifying the um-role parameter during a profile update.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Ultimate Member plugin
Vendor: N/A
Versions affected: All versions before 2.1.12

Exploitation Mechanism

Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed

Mitigation and Prevention

Protect your systems from CVE-2020-36156 with the following measures.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Ultimate Member plugin to version 2.1.12 or newer.
Monitor user roles and privileges for unauthorized changes.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly review and update plugins to the latest versions.
Implement least privilege access controls to limit user capabilities.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security vulnerabilities in plugins and apply patches promptly.