The Biagiotti Membership plugin by Mikado-Themes for WordPress suffers from an authentication bypass vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-12287. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) and affects all versions up to and including 1.0.2. The root cause is the plugin's failure to properly verify a user's identity before authenticating them, which allows an attacker who knows a valid user's email address to bypass authentication controls and log in as that user without any credentials. This includes the ability to impersonate administrative users, granting full control over the WordPress site. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without requiring any privileges or user interaction, making it highly accessible to attackers. The CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 reflects the critical nature of this flaw, with impacts rated high across confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No patches or fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. However, the potential for exploitation is significant given the simplicity of the attack vector and the widespread use of WordPress and this plugin in various sectors. The vulnerability could lead to complete site compromise, data theft, defacement, or use of the site as a launchpad for further attacks.

The impact of CVE-2024-12287 is severe for organizations using the Biagiotti Membership plugin. Successful exploitation allows attackers to bypass authentication entirely and assume the identity of any user, including administrators. This can lead to full site takeover, enabling attackers to modify or delete content, steal sensitive user data, inject malicious code, or disrupt site availability. The compromise of administrative accounts can also facilitate the installation of backdoors or persistent malware, further endangering the organization's security posture. For e-commerce, membership, or subscription-based sites relying on this plugin, the breach could result in financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory penalties due to data exposure. The ease of exploitation and lack of required user interaction increase the likelihood of attacks, potentially affecting a large number of WordPress sites globally. Organizations with sensitive or high-value data hosted on affected sites face elevated risks of espionage, fraud, or service disruption.

Immediate mitigation steps include disabling the Biagiotti Membership plugin until a vendor patch is released. Organizations should monitor Mikado-Themes' official channels for updates or security patches addressing this vulnerability. In the absence of an official fix, applying web application firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious authentication attempts or restrict access to the plugin’s authentication endpoints based on IP reputation or geolocation can reduce risk. Administrators should enforce strong email verification and monitor login logs for unusual activity, especially logins from unknown IP addresses or multiple failed attempts. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) at the WordPress level can provide an additional layer of defense, although it may not fully mitigate the bypass if the plugin authenticates users independently. Regular backups and incident response plans should be reviewed and tested to ensure rapid recovery in case of compromise. Finally, organizations should consider alternative membership plugins with a stronger security track record until this issue is resolved.