CVE-2024-8428 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key) found in the ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board Plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 2.0.2. The root cause is the lack of proper validation on the 'user_id' parameter within the submit_form_handler function. This parameter is user-controlled, allowing authenticated users with subscriber-level privileges or higher to manipulate it to target administrative user accounts. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can change the email address associated with an admin account without proper authorization. Once the email is changed, the attacker can initiate a password reset process, effectively gaining full administrative access to the WordPress site. This vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.8, indicating a high severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and privileges required at a low level. The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability since an attacker can fully control the site by taking over admin accounts. No patches were linked at the time of publication, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the vulnerability poses a significant risk to any site using the affected plugin versions.

The exploitation of CVE-2024-8428 can have severe consequences for organizations worldwide. Attackers can escalate privileges from low-level subscriber accounts to full administrative control, enabling them to manipulate site content, steal sensitive data, install backdoors, or disrupt services. This can lead to data breaches, defacement, loss of customer trust, and potential regulatory penalties. Since WordPress powers a significant portion of the web, and ForumWP is used to manage forums and discussion boards, the vulnerability threatens community platforms, customer support sites, and internal collaboration tools. The ability to reset admin passwords via email change makes recovery difficult without prior detection. Organizations relying on this plugin for user engagement or support may face operational disruptions and reputational damage. Additionally, compromised admin accounts can be leveraged for further lateral movement or to distribute malware, amplifying the threat impact.

To mitigate CVE-2024-8428, organizations should immediately upgrade the ForumWP plugin to a patched version once available. Until a patch is released, administrators should restrict subscriber-level user capabilities to the minimum necessary and monitor for unusual account changes, especially email modifications of admin accounts. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts to reduce the risk of account takeover via password resets. Review and harden password reset workflows to include additional verification steps beyond email confirmation. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the 'user_id' parameter in the submit_form_handler endpoint. Regularly audit user account changes and maintain comprehensive logs for forensic analysis. Consider temporarily disabling the plugin if it is not critical to operations. Educate users about phishing risks that could compound the impact of this vulnerability.