Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability let unauthenticated visitors change a WordPress site’s redirect rules in affected Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks versions. An attacker could send users from trusted pages to unwanted destinations, creating phishing, brand, SEO, and availability risk. The sources do not show active exploitation through CISA KEV.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority website integrity issue, especially for customer-facing WordPress sites. It is not described as code execution, but redirect control can damage trust quickly and support phishing against customers or employees.
Technical view
CVE-2021-24353 is a missing authorization issue in the plugin’s import_data function. Before version 2.0.4, it lacked capability and nonce checks, allowing unauthenticated redirect imports. The weakness maps to CWE-862. Public sources do not provide a CVSS score in the supplied bundle.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks 2.0.0 through 2.0.3, or otherwise before 2.0.4. Risk is higher where redirects affect public, high-traffic, login, payment, or marketing pages.
Exploitation context
The issue is unauthenticated, so internet-facing WordPress sites with the vulnerable plugin are directly reachable. The supplied sources confirm the flaw and patched version, but do not cite active exploitation, weaponized campaigns, or KEV listing.
Researcher notes
The core evidence is missing capability and nonce checks in import_data before 2.0.4. The source bundle does not include CVSS details, proof of exploitation, or affected CPEs. Validate impact by inspecting redirect state, not by attempting exploit reproduction.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks to version 2.0.4 or later.
- Disable or remove the plugin if immediate upgrade is not possible.
- Review all redirect rules for unexpected destinations or broad patterns.
- Check vendor, Wordfence, and WPScan guidance for any additional remediation.
- Restore known-good redirect configuration if unauthorized changes are found.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites for the affected plugin and version.
- Confirm vulnerable versions are no longer present after remediation.
- Review redirect entries for unfamiliar external domains or sitewide redirects.
- Check web and WordPress logs for suspicious unauthenticated redirect import activity.
- Verify important public pages resolve to expected destinations.
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-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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-2021-24353 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2021/05/severe-vulnerabilities-patched-in-simple-301-redirects-by-betterlinks-plugin/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/74c23d56-e81f-47e9-bf8b-33d3f0e81894CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.