WordPress Vulnerability Roundup: March 2020, Part 2
Written by Michael Moore of iThemes on March 25, 2020
Last Updated on August 17, 2020
New WordPress plugin and theme vulnerabilities were disclosed during the second half of March, so we want to keep you aware. In this post, we cover recent WordPress plugin, theme and core vulnerabilities and what to do if you are running one of the vulnerable plugins or themes on your website.
The WordPress Vulnerability Roundup is divided into three different categories: WordPress core, WordPress plugins, and WordPress themes.
Is Your WordPress Website Secure?
DID YOU KNOW – A staggering 83% of WordPress websites are not upgraded or updated, is your website one of these?
Hacks happen due to lack of website upkeep and protection, like updating WordPress or plugins, plus using weak passwords. Contrary to popular belief, web designers and website hosting companies are not responsible for the security of your WordPress website; you are. It’s like using your computer without Anti-virus!
WordPress Core Vulnerabilities
No new WordPress core vulnerabilities have been disclosed this month.
WordPress Theme Vulnerabilities
WordPress Plugin Vulnerabilities
1 – 7. Multiple Plugins
8. WordPress File Upload
9. Newsletter
10. LearnPress
11. Custom Post Type UI
12. Gutenberg & Elementor Templates Importer For Responsive
13. Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense
14. Migrate & Backup WordPress – WPvivid Backup Plugin
15. Cookiebot
16. Data Tables Generator by Supsystic
17. product-lister-walmart
18. All-in-One WP Migration
WordPress Plugin Vulnerabilities
Several new WordPress plugin vulnerabilities have been discovered this month so far. Make sure to follow the suggested action below to update the plugin or completely uninstall it.
1 – 7. Multiple Plugins
Buddypress Component Stats, abstract-submission, WP e-Commerce Shop Styling, web-portal-lite-client, post-pdf-export, blogtopdf, and gboutique all have an Unauthenticated Dompdf Local File Inclusion vulnerability.
Remove the plugins,they have been closed on the WordPress.org plugin repository.
8. WordPress File Upload
WordPress File Upload versions below 4.13.0 have a Remote Code Execution vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 4.13.0.
9. Newsletter
Newsletter versions below 6.5.4 have a CSV Injection vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 6.5.4.
10. LearnPress
LearnPress versions below 3.2.6.7 have a Privilege Escalation vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 3.2.6.7.
11. Custom Post Type UI
Custom Post Type UI versions below 1.7.4 have a Cross-Site Request Forgery and Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 1.7.4.
12. Gutenberg & Elementor Templates Importer For Responsive
Gutenberg & Elementor Templates Importer For Responsive versions below 2.2.6 have an Unprotected AJAX Endpoints vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 2.2.6.
13. Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense versions below 1.17.4 have an Authenticated Reflected Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 1.17.4.
14. Migrate & Backup WordPress – WPvivid Backup Plugin
Migrate & Backup WordPress – WPvivid Backup Plugin versions below 0.9.36 have Missing Authorization Leading to a Database Leak vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 0.9.36.
15. Cookiebot
Cookiebot versions below 3.6.1 have an Authenticated Reflected Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 3.6.1.
16. Data Tables Generator by Supsystic
Data Tables Generator by Supsystic versions below 1.9.92 have multiple vulnerabilities.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 1.9.92.
17. product-lister-walmart
product-lister-walmart has an Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution vulnerability.
Remove the plugin, it has been closed on the WordPress.org plugin repository pending review.
18. All-in-One WP Migration
All-in-One WP Migration versions below 7.15 have an Arbitrary Backup Download vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 7.15.
WordPress Themes
1. Fruitful
Fruitful theme versions below 3.8.2 have an Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability.
The vulnerabilities have been patched, and you should update to version 3.8.2.
How to Be Proactive About WordPress Theme & Plugin Vulnerabilities
Running outdated software is the number one reason WordPress sites are hacked. It is crucial to the security of your WordPress site that you have an update routine. You should be logging into your sites at least once a week to perform updates.
Automatic Updates Can Help
Automatic updates are a great choice for WordPress websites that don’t change very often. Lack of attention often leaves these sites neglected and vulnerable to attacks. Even with recommended security settings, running vulnerable software on your site can give an attacker an entry point into your site.
Version Management Update Options
WordPress Updates –Automatically install the latest WordPress release.
Plugin Automatic Updates – Automatically install the latest plugin updates. This should be enabled unless you actively maintain this site on a daily basis and install the updates manually shortly after they are released.
Theme Automatic Updates – Automatically install the latest theme updates. This should be enabled unless your theme has file customizations.
Granular Control over Plugin and Theme updates – You may have plugins/themes that you’d like to either manually update, or delay the update until the release has had time to prove stable. You can choose Custom for the opportunity to assign each plugin or theme to either update immediately (Enable), not update automatically at all (Disable) or update with a delay of a specified amount of days (Delay).
Strengthening and Alerting to Critical Issues
Strengthen Site When Running Outdated Software – Automatically add extra protections to the site when an available update has not been installed for a month. The iThemes Security plugin will automatically enable stricter security when an update has not been installed for a month. First, it will force all users that do not have two-factor enabled to provide a login code sent to their email address before logging back in. Second, it will disable the WP File Editor (to block people from editing plugin or theme code), XML-RPC pingbacks, and block multiple authentication attempts per XML-RPC request (both of which will make XML-RPC stronger against attacks without having to turn it off completely).
Scan for Other Old WordPress Sites – This will checks for other outdated WordPress installs on your hosting account. A single outdated WordPress site with a vulnerability could allow attackers to compromise all the other sites on the same hosting account.
Send Email Notifications – For issues that require intervention, an email is sent to admin-level users.
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