CVE-2024-0679 is a vulnerability identified in the ColorMag WordPress theme developed by ThemeGrill, affecting all versions up to and including 3.1.2. The root cause of this vulnerability is a missing authorization check in the plugin_action_callback() function. Specifically, the function lacks a proper capability check to verify whether the user has sufficient privileges to perform certain actions. This flaw allows any authenticated user with subscriber-level access or higher to exploit the vulnerability to install and activate arbitrary plugins on the affected WordPress site. Since subscriber-level users typically have very limited permissions, this vulnerability significantly elevates their privileges without requiring administrator rights. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5 (medium severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no confidentiality impact (C:N), high integrity impact (I:H), and no availability impact (A:N). The integrity impact is high because unauthorized plugin installation and activation can lead to code execution, backdoors, or other malicious activities compromising the site's integrity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability falls under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), highlighting the absence of proper access control checks in the affected function.

For European organizations using WordPress websites with the ColorMag theme, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Attackers with subscriber-level access—potentially obtained through phishing, credential stuffing, or weak password exploitation—can escalate privileges to install malicious plugins. This can lead to website defacement, data tampering, insertion of backdoors, or pivoting to internal networks. The integrity of the website content and functionality can be severely compromised, potentially damaging brand reputation and customer trust. Additionally, unauthorized plugins could be used to exfiltrate sensitive data or launch further attacks against users or backend systems. Given the widespread use of WordPress in Europe across various sectors including government, education, and commerce, the vulnerability could be exploited to disrupt services or conduct espionage. The lack of impact on confidentiality and availability reduces the risk of data leaks or denial of service directly from this vulnerability, but the high integrity impact and ease of exploitation make it a serious concern.

European organizations should immediately audit their WordPress installations to identify if the ColorMag theme version 3.1.2 or earlier is in use. Until an official patch is released, organizations should consider the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict subscriber-level user registrations or enforce stricter user verification to minimize the risk of unauthorized access. 2) Implement Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious plugin installation or activation requests. 3) Temporarily disable or restrict plugin installation capabilities via custom code or plugins that enforce capability checks on plugin-related actions. 4) Monitor WordPress logs for unusual plugin installation or activation activities, especially from non-administrator accounts. 5) Educate site administrators and users about the risk of credential compromise and enforce strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all user roles. 6) Regularly back up website data and configurations to enable quick recovery in case of compromise. 7) Stay alert for official patches or updates from ThemeGrill and apply them promptly once available.