CVE-2024-12365
Published: 14 January 2025
Summary
CVE-2024-12365 is a high-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Boldgrid W3 Total Cache. Its CVSS base score is 8.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 4.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-4 (Information Flow Enforcement).
Deeper analysis
The W3 Total Cache plugin for WordPress contains a missing capability check in the is_w3tc_admin_page function across all versions through 2.8.1. This flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-12365 and assigned CWE-862, permits unauthorized data access and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.5.
Authenticated users with Subscriber privileges or above can retrieve the plugin nonce and leverage it to execute restricted actions. Successful exploitation yields information disclosure, exhaustion of service plan quotas, and the ability to issue arbitrary outbound web requests from the affected site, which may reach internal services or retrieve cloud instance metadata.
The supplied references consist solely of links to plugin source files and contain no advisory text or patch guidance. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.2296 with no observed rise after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-50808
Vulnerability details
The W3 Total Cache plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to a missing capability check on the is_w3tc_admin_page function in all versions up to, and including, 2.8.1. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with…
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Subscriber-level access and above, to obtain the plugin's nonce value and perform unauthorized actions, resulting in information disclosure, service plan limits consumption as well as making web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application that can be used to query information from internal services, including instance metadata on cloud-based applications.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Missing authorization check in public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables exploitation via low-priv accounts (T1190); SSRF capability facilitates access to cloud instance metadata for credential theft (T1552.005).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces the missing capability checks in the plugin's admin functions, preventing unauthorized access by Subscriber-level users to sensitive data and actions.
Applies least privilege to restrict Subscriber-level accounts from performing admin actions even if authorization checks are bypassed.
Enforces controls on information flows to block SSRF requests to arbitrary internal locations, such as cloud instance metadata services.