CVE-2024-13635 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) found in the VK Blocks plugin for WordPress, developed by vektor-inc. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.94.2.2. It arises from insufficient access control checks in the page content block feature of the plugin, which allows authenticated users with Contributor-level permissions or higher to extract sensitive information. Specifically, these users can access the content of private posts and pages that should normally be restricted. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L). The attacker must have some level of authenticated access (PR:L), but no UI interaction is needed (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is limited to confidentiality (C:L) without affecting integrity or availability. Although no public exploits are known at this time, the vulnerability poses a risk to the confidentiality of sensitive content on affected WordPress sites. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, indicating a medium severity level. The root cause is improper access control, allowing privilege escalation in terms of data access within the plugin's content blocks. This vulnerability highlights the importance of strict permission checks in WordPress plugins that handle private content.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-13635 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored in private posts and pages on WordPress sites using the VK Blocks plugin. Organizations relying on this plugin may face confidentiality breaches, potentially exposing proprietary, personal, or sensitive business information to users who should not have access. Since the vulnerability requires Contributor-level access, it could be exploited by insiders or compromised accounts with limited privileges, increasing the risk of insider threats or lateral movement within the environment. Although the vulnerability does not affect data integrity or system availability, the exposure of private content could lead to reputational damage, regulatory compliance issues (especially if personal data is involved), and loss of trust from users or customers. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity score and ease of exploitation warrant timely mitigation. The scope is limited to WordPress sites using VK Blocks, but given WordPress's widespread use, the potential impact is significant for affected organizations globally.

To mitigate CVE-2024-13635, organizations should first identify all WordPress installations using the VK Blocks plugin and assess the versions in use. Since no patch links are currently available, immediate mitigation involves restricting Contributor-level access and above to only trusted users, minimizing the number of users who can exploit this vulnerability. Implement strict role-based access control (RBAC) policies and regularly audit user permissions to ensure no unnecessary privileges are granted. Consider disabling or removing the VK Blocks plugin if it is not essential or if private content exposure risk is unacceptable. Monitor WordPress and VK Blocks plugin vendor channels for security updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once released. Additionally, implement logging and monitoring to detect unusual access patterns to private content blocks, which may indicate exploitation attempts. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoints. Finally, educate content managers and administrators about the risks of privilege misuse and enforce strong authentication mechanisms to reduce the risk of account compromise.