CVE-2024-12129 is a critical authorization bypass vulnerability in the Royal Core plugin for WordPress, identified as CWE-862 (Missing Authorization). The vulnerability exists in the 'royal_restore_backup' function, which lacks proper capability checks, allowing authenticated users with minimal privileges (Subscriber role or higher) to perform unauthorized modifications to WordPress site options. Specifically, attackers can update the 'default_role' option to 'administrator' and enable user registration, thereby creating new administrative accounts without legitimate authorization. This flaw effectively enables privilege escalation from low-level authenticated users to full administrative control of the WordPress site. The vulnerability affects all versions of the Royal Core plugin up to and including version 2.9.2. The CVSS v3.1 score is 8.8 (high), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, privileges required (low-level authenticated user), no user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Exploitation requires only authenticated access, which could be obtained through compromised credentials or weak user management. No patches or official fixes have been linked yet, and no known exploits are publicly reported, but the vulnerability's nature makes it a significant risk for WordPress sites using this plugin. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can gain persistent administrative access, potentially leading to full site compromise, data theft, defacement, or further malware deployment.

The impact of CVE-2024-12129 is severe for organizations running WordPress sites with the Royal Core plugin installed. Attackers with minimal authenticated access can escalate privileges to administrator, enabling full control over the website. This can lead to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion, site defacement, insertion of malicious code or backdoors, and disruption of service. The ability to create new admin accounts also facilitates persistent access, making remediation more difficult. Organizations relying on WordPress for business operations, e-commerce, or content management face risks of reputational damage, data breaches, and potential regulatory non-compliance. Since WordPress powers a significant portion of the web, and Royal Core is a commercial plugin used in various themes and sites, the scope of affected systems is broad. The vulnerability also increases the attack surface for supply chain attacks if compromised sites are used to distribute malware or phishing content. The lack of user interaction and low complexity of exploitation further elevate the threat level.

To mitigate CVE-2024-12129, organizations should immediately audit their WordPress installations for the presence of the Royal Core plugin and verify the version in use. Until an official patch is released, consider the following specific actions: 1) Restrict user roles strictly, ensuring that Subscriber accounts are limited and monitored; 2) Disable user registration if not required, to prevent attackers from leveraging the vulnerability to create admin accounts; 3) Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the 'royal_restore_backup' function or attempts to modify critical options; 4) Monitor logs for unusual option updates or new administrator account creations; 5) Enforce strong authentication policies and consider multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise; 6) If possible, temporarily deactivate or remove the Royal Core plugin until a security update is available; 7) Keep WordPress core and all plugins/themes updated to minimize exposure to other vulnerabilities; 8) Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests focusing on privilege escalation vectors. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific attack vector and plugin functionality involved.