Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Wordable’s WordPress plugin had an authentication bypass that could let an unauthenticated attacker gain administrator privileges on affected sites. That level of access can expose content, customer data, and site integrity. The supplied sources rate this critical but do not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent for any public WordPress site using Wordable. Administrator takeover can lead directly to data exposure, defacement, malware placement, and loss of site control.
Technical view
The issue affects Wordable versions up to and including 3.1.1 per the CVE description. It involves user-controlled hashing algorithm selection passed to hash_hmac() and loose hash comparison, enabling authentication bypass. CVSS 3.1 is 9.8 with network access, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on WordPress sites that have the Wordable plugin installed at version 3.1.1 or earlier. The provided affected-product metadata is inconsistent, so confirm installed plugin identity and version locally.
Exploitation context
The bundle states unauthenticated attackers could gain administrator privileges. It does not cite KEV listing or confirmed exploitation in the wild, so active exploitation should not be assumed from these sources alone.
Researcher notes
The root cause combines attacker-influenced hash algorithm handling with loose comparison. The source bundle includes a WordPress Trac changeset, but does not clearly name a fixed version. Avoid inferring patch status beyond vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory all WordPress sites for the Wordable plugin and installed version.
- Disable or remove Wordable if version is 3.1.1 or earlier.
- Check vendor and WordPress plugin repository guidance for a fixed release.
- Review administrator accounts for unauthorized additions or changes.
- Preserve logs if compromise is suspected.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Wordable is installed on each WordPress instance.
- Compare plugin version against the vulnerable range: up to and including 3.1.1.
- Review admin user creation and role changes during the exposure window.
- Check web and authentication logs for suspicious Wordable-related activity.
- Verify remediation by confirming removal, disablement, or vendor-confirmed fixed version.
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-2020-36724 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/be1ab218-37bd-407a-8cb9-66f761849c21?source=cveCVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/wordpress-plugins-and-themes-vulnerabilities-roundup/CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2234193/wordable/trunk/wordable.phpCVE 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.