CVE-2024-13307 is a vulnerability identified in the Reales WP - Real Estate WordPress Theme developed by pixel_prime, affecting all versions up to and including 2.1.2. The core issue is a missing authorization check (CWE-862) in several critical functions: 'reales_delete_file', 'reales_delete_file_plans', 'reales_add_to_favourites', and 'reales_remove_from_favourites'. These functions lack proper capability verification, allowing unauthenticated attackers to perform unauthorized actions. Specifically, attackers can delete arbitrary attachments associated with the website and manipulate user-specific data by adding or removing favorite property listings without any authentication. This vulnerability arises because the theme does not enforce user permission checks before executing these sensitive operations, violating the principle of least privilege. The absence of authentication requirements means that any remote attacker can exploit this flaw without needing valid credentials or user interaction. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability's presence in a popular WordPress theme used for real estate websites poses a significant risk. The impact includes potential data loss, unauthorized data manipulation, and disruption of user experience on affected websites. Since WordPress themes are widely deployed and often integrated with other plugins and customizations, this vulnerability could be leveraged as a foothold for further attacks or to degrade the integrity and availability of the affected sites.

For European organizations, especially those operating real estate platforms or property listing services using the Reales WP theme, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized deletion of critical media files (attachments), resulting in data loss and degraded website functionality. The ability to manipulate user favorites without authentication undermines user trust and could distort property listing data, impacting business operations and customer satisfaction. Additionally, attackers could exploit this flaw to deface websites or remove important content, potentially causing reputational damage. Given the theme's focus on real estate, organizations involved in property sales, rentals, or real estate marketing are at particular risk. The disruption could affect not only commercial entities but also public sector organizations that provide real estate information. Moreover, since the vulnerability requires no authentication and no user interaction, automated exploitation attempts could scale rapidly, increasing the risk of widespread impact. The lack of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks, especially as threat actors often target WordPress themes due to their popularity and sometimes lax security controls.

1. Immediate upgrade or patching: Organizations should check for updates from pixel_prime addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. If no official patch exists, consider temporarily disabling the affected theme or replacing it with a secure alternative. 2. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules: Deploy WAF rules to detect and block unauthorized requests targeting the vulnerable functions, especially those attempting to invoke 'reales_delete_file' and related endpoints. 3. Restrict access via server configuration: Use .htaccess or equivalent web server configurations to restrict access to the vulnerable endpoints or scripts to authenticated users or trusted IP ranges. 4. Monitor logs for suspicious activity: Set up monitoring to detect unusual POST or GET requests that attempt to delete files or modify favorites without proper authentication. 5. Harden WordPress installations: Enforce strong authentication mechanisms, limit plugin/theme installations to trusted sources, and regularly audit user permissions to minimize the attack surface. 6. Backup critical data: Maintain regular, secure backups of website content and attachments to enable recovery in case of data deletion. 7. Engage with the vendor: Contact pixel_prime to encourage timely patch releases and request security advisories. 8. Conduct security assessments: Perform penetration testing focused on authorization controls within the WordPress environment to identify similar weaknesses.