Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability lets an attacker abuse a logged-in WordPress administrator’s browser to change Paid Memberships Pro page settings if the admin is tricked into clicking a malicious link. It is not a direct remote compromise, but it can alter site configuration and affect membership workflows.
Executive priority
Treat this as a scheduled remediation item unless the plugin supports revenue-critical membership flows or administrators frequently handle untrusted links. Patch during the next maintenance window and validate that membership pages were not altered.
Technical view
Paid Memberships Pro for WordPress through version 2.4.2 has missing or incorrect nonce validation in pmpro_page_save(). The issue is CWE-352 CSRF with CVSS 3.1 score 4.3. An unauthenticated attacker needs user interaction from a site administrator to save pages through a forged request.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress sites running Paid Memberships Pro version 2.4.2 or older. Risk is higher where administrators stay logged in while opening email, tickets, or untrusted links. The supplied affected data is somewhat inconsistent, so confirm installed plugin version locally.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires social engineering of an authenticated administrator, which lowers urgency compared with unauthenticated server-side flaws but still creates configuration integrity risk.
Researcher notes
The key technical claim is CSRF in pmpro_page_save() caused by missing or incorrect nonce validation. The bundle identifies the vulnerable range as through 2.4.2, but does not provide exploit telemetry. Avoid assuming broader impact beyond saving pages.
Mitigation direction
- Update Paid Memberships Pro to a vendor-supported version newer than 2.4.2.
- Check vendor and WordPress plugin guidance for the official fixed release.
- Limit administrator browsing from active WordPress sessions.
- Use least-privilege accounts for routine content and membership operations.
- Review membership page settings after patching.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using Paid Memberships Pro.
- Confirm whether installed versions are 2.4.2 or older.
- Review administrative page settings for unexpected changes.
- Check change logs or audit logs around administrator sessions.
- Verify updated plugin code includes nonce validation for page save handling.
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-2020-36754 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/d74553a4-0ef7-4908-a2e8-5e0216f7b256?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=2368689%40paid-memberships-pro&new=2368689%40paid-memberships-pro&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.