Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets an attacker manipulate gallery settings on a vulnerable WordPress site if they can trick an administrator into clicking a crafted request while logged in. The impact is limited to integrity of gallery content or configuration, not direct data theft or takeover in the provided sources.
Executive priority
Treat as a scheduled remediation item unless the plugin is widely deployed on high-visibility sites or administrator accounts are heavily targeted. The business risk is unauthorized gallery modification, reputational impact, and content integrity loss rather than direct breach evidence.
Technical view
CVE-2021-4384 is a CSRF issue in the WordPress Photo Gallery – Image Gallery plugin through version 1.0.6. Missing or incorrect nonce validation affects load_images_thumbnail() and edit_gallery(), allowing unauthenticated forged requests to edit galleries when administrator interaction occurs.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using the affected Photo Gallery – Image Gallery plugin version up to and including 1.0.6. The source metadata lacks CPEs and contains sparse affected-version structure, so asset validation should be plugin-name and version based.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed in KEV, and the supplied sources do not state active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction by a logged-in administrator, such as clicking a malicious link, which lowers urgency compared with unauthenticated direct compromise.
Researcher notes
Focus review on missing nonce checks around load_images_thumbnail() and edit_gallery(). The supplied WordPress Trac references point to version 1.0.6 code locations, but the bundle does not provide exploit details or a clearly named fixed version.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the affected plugin and version.
- Check vendor or WordPress plugin guidance for a fixed supported release.
- Upgrade beyond vulnerable versions only when vendor guidance confirms the fix.
- Disable or remove the plugin where no supported fix is available.
- Warn administrators not to click untrusted links while logged into WordPress.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the plugin is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record the installed plugin version and compare against <= 1.0.6.
- Review gallery change history for unexpected edits after administrator browsing sessions.
- Verify fixed releases enforce nonce validation on affected gallery actions.
- Document compensating controls for any site awaiting 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-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-2021-4384 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/1355bc94-7110-4d61-855e-78889e58dcad?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/browser/photo-contest/tags/1.0.6/includes/view/ajax-function.php#L559CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/photo-contest/tags/1.0.6/includes/admin/admin-page-galleries.php#L102CVE 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.