Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Sassy Social Share 3.3.23 for WordPress has a high-severity flaw that can let a logged-in low-privilege user abuse unsafe configuration import handling. Successful exploitation could compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the site. The bundle does not show active exploitation or KEV listing.
Executive priority
Treat as a priority patch for affected WordPress sites because a basic authenticated account could lead to full site compromise. Urgency is high for public sites with open registration or many low-privilege users.
Technical view
The flaw is PHP Object Injection in wp_ajax_heateor_sss_import_config. The import_config function deserializes unvalidated user input and lacks a capability check, allowing underprivileged authenticated users to reach the vulnerable path. CVSS 3.1 is 8.8 with low attack complexity and no user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Sassy Social Share version 3.3.23, especially sites with subscriber, contributor, or other low-privilege authenticated accounts. Public unauthenticated exposure is not stated in the bundle.
Exploitation context
The source bundle supports authenticated exploitation by underprivileged users. It does not cite active exploitation, public weaponization, or CISA KEV inclusion. Impact depends on available PHP object chains in the WordPress environment, which is not detailed in the sources.
Researcher notes
Key evidence is the unsafe deserialization plus missing capability check in an authenticated AJAX action. The bundle references a WordPress Trac changeset and Wordfence advisory, but does not provide active exploitation evidence or a fixed version number in the supplied text.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Sassy Social Share from 3.3.23 to a vendor-confirmed patched or current version.
- Disable or remove the plugin if it is not business-critical.
- Review Wordfence and WordPress plugin guidance for the exact fixed release.
- Restrict unnecessary low-privilege WordPress accounts until remediation is complete.
- Monitor for unusual authenticated AJAX activity tied to the import configuration action.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites and confirm whether Sassy Social Share 3.3.23 is installed.
- Check plugin code or release notes for capability checks on import_config.
- Verify user input is no longer directly deserialized in the import path.
- Review WordPress users with low privileges and remove stale accounts.
- Search logs for unexpected access to wp_ajax_heateor_sss_import_config.
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-502: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. 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 lookupCWE-863: 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-2021-39321 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/vulnerability-advisories/#CVE-2021-39321CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2021/10/vulnerability-patched-in-sassy-social-share-plugin/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2600464/sassy-social-share/trunk/admin/class-sassy-social-share-admin.phpCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Deserialization of Untrusted Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Incorrect Authorization
Incorrect Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.