CVE-2024-9927 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability classified under CWE-287, found in the WooCommerce Order Proposal plugin developed by WP Overnight BV for WordPress. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 2.0.5 due to improper implementation of the allow_payment_without_login function. This function is intended to allow certain payment actions without requiring user login, but the flawed logic permits authenticated users with Shop Manager-level privileges or higher to escalate their privileges by logging in as arbitrary WordPress user accounts, including administrators. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L), but requires existing privileges (PR:H). The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high, as attackers can gain full administrative control over the WordPress site, potentially leading to data theft, site defacement, or denial of service. Although no exploits are currently known in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and ease of exploitation make it a significant risk. The plugin is widely used in e-commerce environments leveraging WooCommerce, increasing the potential attack surface. The vulnerability was published on October 23, 2024, and no official patch links are currently available, indicating that mitigation may require temporary workarounds or role restrictions until a fix is released.

The vulnerability allows attackers with Shop Manager-level access to impersonate any user, including administrators, leading to full site takeover. This compromises the confidentiality of sensitive customer and business data, the integrity of website content and transactions, and the availability of the e-commerce platform. Attackers could manipulate orders, steal payment information, inject malicious code, or disrupt business operations. Given WooCommerce's widespread use in online retail, the impact extends to financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory compliance violations for affected organizations. The requirement for authenticated access limits the attack vector to insiders or compromised accounts, but the privilege escalation potential significantly raises the threat level. Organizations relying on this plugin for order management are particularly vulnerable to targeted attacks aiming to gain administrative control.

1. Immediately restrict Shop Manager and similar privileged roles to trusted personnel only, minimizing the risk of insider exploitation. 2. Monitor WordPress user login logs for unusual activity, especially logins from Shop Manager accounts or sudden administrative logins. 3. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all privileged accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 4. Temporarily disable or uninstall the WooCommerce Order Proposal plugin if feasible until an official patch is released. 5. Review and harden WordPress user role permissions to ensure least privilege principles are enforced. 6. Keep WordPress core, WooCommerce, and all plugins updated to the latest versions to reduce exposure to known vulnerabilities. 7. Employ web application firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests related to this vulnerability. 8. Prepare to apply vendor patches promptly once available and test updates in a staging environment before production deployment.