Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-36735 affects the WP ERP WordPress plugin through version 1.6.3. If an administrator is tricked into interacting with a forged request while logged in, plugin settings or related HR/CRM actions could be changed without proper authorization checks.
Executive priority
Treat this as a routine but real WordPress plugin remediation item. It is not currently evidenced as actively exploited, but affected sites should be updated because successful CSRF could alter business data or plugin configuration.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-352 CSRF caused by missing or incorrect nonce validation in several WP ERP functions, including leave calendar, settings, leave policies, bulk actions, and CRM contact handling. CVSS is 4.3 because exploitation is network-reachable but requires user interaction and has limited integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running WP ERP, Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite with WooCommerce CRM Support, version 1.6.3 or earlier. Sites without this plugin, or running newer fixed versions, are not indicated as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. An attacker would need to induce a logged-in site administrator to perform an action, such as following a link, causing an unintended authenticated request.
Researcher notes
The affected functions named in the CVE indicate nonce validation gaps across multiple administrative workflows. Evidence supports limited integrity impact, no confidentiality or availability impact, and required administrator interaction. The provided sources do not establish exploit-in-the-wild activity.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the WP ERP plugin and installed version.
- Update WP ERP to a version newer than 1.6.3, following vendor guidance.
- Restrict administrator access to trusted users and managed devices.
- Warn administrators against opening unsolicited links while logged into WordPress.
- Review WP ERP settings and records for unexpected changes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether WP ERP is installed on each WordPress site.
- Verify the installed plugin version is greater than 1.6.3.
- Check admin activity logs for unexpected WP ERP setting changes.
- Review HR, leave policy, bulk action, and CRM contact changes.
- Confirm no unsupported workaround replaced the vendor fix.
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-352: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. 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 lookupCVE-2020-36735 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/01b90498-0ddb-4eb3-b76d-de30ed03d7d0?source=cveCVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/25-wordpress-plugins-vulnerable-to-csrf-attacks/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/more-wordpress-plugins-and-themes-vulnerable-to-csrf-attacks/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-3/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-2/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-1/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-5/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-4/CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=2368462%40erp&new=2368462%40erp&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.