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WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) today, powering millions of websites worldwide. However, its popularity also makes it a prime target for cybercriminals who are always on the lookout for new vulnerabilities to exploit. Recently, a critical security vulnerability was discovered in the Elementor plugin, which could potentially compromise over a million websites.
In this article, we will discuss the details of the vulnerability, including how it works, what websites are at risk, and what can the website owners do. We will also cover the timeline of the vulnerability, including when it was first exposed and when it was fixed.
What is the Elementor?
Elementor is a popular page builder tool used by website owners and developers to create custom layouts and designs without requiring coding skills. It is one of the most widely used page builders for WordPress and is highly rewarded for its ease of use and flexibility.
What is the vulnerability in the Elementor plugin?
A critical vulnerability was discovered in the popular Elementor plugin addon, Essential Addons for Elementor, which could leave over 1 million websites at risk of attack. The issue was tracked as CVE-2023-32243, addressed by the stakeholders in the version 5.7.1 and was delivered to the public on May 11, 2023. It is a very known plugin in the Elementor world.
The identified vulnerability allows anyone to bypass user authentication and gain access to user accounts without requiring a password, potentially resulting in the compromise of sensitive data, malware installation, or unauthorised site changes.
Any user can reset his account password as long he/she knows the account username. Administrator’s account password can also be recovered in the same way. The vulnerability occurs because the defected release did not validate the password reset key and instead changes the password directly. Thus, anyone could easily get into any WordPress administrator portal and exploit everything.
While the security flaw has been fixed, the incident highlights the daunting challenges of ensuring robust website security in a rapidly evolving digital environment.
As the dust settles on this discovery, it serves as a wake-up call to all website stakeholders about the need to consistently implement the latest security patch, particularly timely plugin updates, to guarantee their security.
