Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets an unauthenticated internet user change WordPress site settings through the uListing plugin. Because WordPress options can affect identity, redirects, registration, and site behavior, compromise impact can be severe even without a valid account.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent for any public WordPress site using uListing. The issue can let outsiders alter core site configuration without logging in, creating takeover, redirection, or service disruption risk.
Technical view
CVE-2021-4341 is an authorization bypass in uListing for WordPress through the stm_update_email_data AJAX action. Sources cite missing capability checks, missing input validation, and no security nonce in versions up to and including 1.6.6, allowing unauthenticated modification of arbitrary WordPress options.
Likely exposure
Internet-facing WordPress sites running the Directory Listings WordPress plugin uListing, especially versions up to and including 1.6.6. The affected metadata in the bundle is inconsistent, so confirm exposure against installed plugin versions and vendor advisories.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The vulnerability is remotely reachable, unauthenticated, low complexity, and has full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact under CVSS 3.1.
Researcher notes
Primary evidence identifies CWE-862 authorization bypass and CVSS 9.8. Do not assume active exploitation from the bundle. The affected-product version field appears incomplete, so use the narrative version range and linked advisories for validation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory all WordPress sites for the uListing plugin and installed version.
- Update uListing according to vendor guidance; sources only identify vulnerable versions through 1.6.6.
- Disable or remove uListing where immediate updating is not possible.
- Review WordPress options for unauthorized changes after exposure.
- Restore suspicious option changes from known-good backups where needed.
Validation and detection
- Check whether uListing is installed on each WordPress instance.
- Confirm whether installed versions are 1.6.6 or earlier.
- Review web logs for unauthenticated requests referencing stm_update_email_data.
- Audit sensitive WordPress options such as site URL, admin email, registration, and default role.
- Verify patched or disabled status after remediation.
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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-4341 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
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.