The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-12336 affects the WC Affiliate – A Complete WooCommerce Affiliate Plugin, a popular WordPress plugin used to manage affiliate marketing programs within WooCommerce stores. The root cause is a missing capability check in the 'export_all_data' function, which is responsible for exporting affiliate-related data. This missing authorization allows any authenticated user with at least Subscriber-level privileges to invoke this function and export sensitive affiliate data, including personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, email addresses, and possibly payment or commission details. Since WordPress Subscriber roles are commonly assigned to registered users with minimal privileges, this vulnerability significantly lowers the barrier for data exposure. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.5 (medium severity), reflecting the high confidentiality impact but limited integrity and availability impact. No patches or updates are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the risk remains significant due to the sensitivity of the data exposed and the ease of exploitation.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive affiliate data, including PII, which can lead to privacy violations, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), and reputational damage. Organizations relying on this plugin for affiliate management risk exposing customer and affiliate information to any authenticated user, including potentially compromised or malicious subscriber accounts. This could facilitate further attacks such as social engineering, phishing, or identity theft. Although the vulnerability does not affect data integrity or system availability, the confidentiality breach alone can have severe legal and financial consequences. E-commerce businesses worldwide using WooCommerce and this plugin are at risk, especially those with large affiliate programs or handling sensitive customer data.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should immediately restrict access to the affected plugin's export functionality by implementing manual capability checks or role restrictions until an official patch is released. Administrators should audit user roles and remove unnecessary Subscriber-level accounts or upgrade their privileges carefully. Employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block unauthorized export attempts can provide temporary protection. Monitoring logs for unusual export activity is critical to detect exploitation attempts. Organizations should also keep the plugin updated and subscribe to vendor advisories for patch releases. If possible, disable the export feature entirely if not required. Additionally, enforcing strong authentication and monitoring user behavior can reduce the risk of compromised accounts being used to exploit this flaw.