CVE-2024-12616 is a vulnerability identified in the Bitly's WordPress Plugin developed by bitlydeveloper, affecting all versions up to and including 2.7.3. The root cause is a missing authorization (CWE-862) on multiple AJAX endpoints within the plugin, which means that certain AJAX actions do not properly verify whether the requesting user has the necessary capabilities to perform sensitive operations. Specifically, authenticated users with as low as Subscriber-level access can exploit this flaw to update and retrieve plugin settings that should be restricted to higher privilege roles. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond authentication and can be triggered remotely over the network (AV:N). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, reflecting low complexity (AC:L), requiring privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and limited impact on integrity (I:L) without affecting confidentiality or availability. This vulnerability could allow attackers to manipulate plugin configurations, potentially leading to further exploitation or disruption of plugin functionality. No patches or exploit code are currently publicly available, but the issue is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is unauthorized modification of plugin settings by users with minimal privileges, which can undermine the integrity of the affected WordPress site’s URL shortening and link management functionality. While it does not directly compromise confidentiality or availability, unauthorized changes could lead to misconfiguration, redirection to malicious URLs, or disruption of legitimate link tracking. For organizations relying on Bitly's WordPress Plugin for marketing, analytics, or user engagement, this could result in reputational damage, loss of user trust, or indirect exposure to further attacks if attackers leverage the altered settings to inject malicious content or redirect users. Since the vulnerability requires authenticated access, the risk is higher in environments with weak user management or where subscriber accounts are easily compromised or created. The scope includes any WordPress site using this plugin, which is significant given WordPress's global market share in content management systems.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should immediately update the Bitly's WordPress Plugin to a version that includes proper authorization checks once available. Until a patch is released, administrators should restrict Subscriber-level user registrations or remove unnecessary user accounts with low privileges to reduce the attack surface. Implementing strict role-based access controls and monitoring for unusual changes in plugin settings can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, web application firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to block suspicious AJAX requests targeting the plugin’s endpoints. Regular audits of plugin configurations and logs should be conducted to identify unauthorized modifications. If feasible, temporarily disabling the plugin until a fix is applied can eliminate the risk. Finally, educating site administrators about the risks of granting unnecessary privileges and enforcing strong authentication mechanisms will reduce the likelihood of exploitation.