Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a critical WordPress plugin issue in MStore API through 2.1.5. An unauthenticated internet user could abuse exposed account-management routes to create administrator accounts, remove existing administrators, or raise privileges on accounts. For affected ecommerce or mobile-app-backed WordPress sites, this is a direct site takeover risk.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent for any public WordPress site using MStore API through 2.1.5. The business risk is account takeover and administrative control of the site, not just data exposure. Prioritize patching or disabling the plugin before lower-impact hardening work.
Technical view
CVE-2020-36713 is an authentication bypass in the MStore API plugin for WordPress. The bundle attributes it to unrestricted access to the register and update_user_profile routes, mapped to CWE-288. CVSS 3.1 is 9.8 because exploitation is network-accessible, unauthenticated, low complexity, and can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on WordPress sites running the MStore API plugin at versions up to and including 2.1.5. The source bundle’s affected metadata is inconsistent, so confirm installed plugin name and version directly rather than relying only on CPE matching.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. However, the described impact is severe because unauthenticated users could manipulate administrator-level accounts if an affected plugin is exposed.
Researcher notes
Key research points are the exposed register and update_user_profile routes, CWE-288 classification, and administrator account manipulation impact. The source bundle lacks CPE detail and has inconsistent affected-version metadata, so validation should start with installed plugin evidence and vendor advisory review.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade MStore API to a vendor-fixed release newer than 2.1.5 after confirming vendor guidance.
- Disable or remove the plugin if it is not required for current business operations.
- Review WordPress administrator accounts for unexpected additions, deletions, or privilege changes.
- Check vendor, Wordfence, and NinTechNet guidance for any version-specific remediation instructions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites for the MStore API plugin and record exact installed versions.
- Verify affected routes reject unauthenticated account-management requests in a safe test environment.
- Review WordPress users and audit logs for suspicious administrator account changes.
- Confirm the updated plugin remains compatible with mobile app and ecommerce workflows.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-288: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-36713 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/934c3ce9-cf2d-4bf6-9a34-f448cb2e5a1d?source=cveCVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/critical-vulnerability-fixed-in-wordpress-mstore-api-plugin/CVE reference
- https://www.acunetix.com/vulnerabilities/web/wordpress-plugin-mstore-api-security-bypass-2-1-5/CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.