Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-4394 affects the WordPress Locations plugin through version 3.2.1. A malicious site or link could cause an authenticated administrator’s browser to change custom field metadata without proper CSRF protection. Business impact is limited but real: unauthorized content or metadata changes on affected WordPress sites.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority WordPress hygiene issue. It is not evidenced as actively exploited, but affected public sites with active administrators should be remediated during the next normal security maintenance window.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-352 CSRF in the Locations plugin saveCustomFields() function, caused by missing or incorrect nonce validation. The CVSS 3.1 score is 4.3, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required by the attacker, required user interaction, and low integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the Locations plugin at version 3.2.1 or earlier. The attacker does not need an account, but must induce a site administrator to perform an action while authenticated.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The practical attack context is social engineering against an authenticated WordPress administrator to trigger a forged request that updates custom field metadata.
Researcher notes
The source data clearly identifies CSRF and the vulnerable function, but product version metadata is sparse and partly inconsistent. Avoid assuming wider impact beyond the Locations plugin through 3.2.1 unless vendor or repository evidence confirms it.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Locations plugin and record installed versions.
- Update the plugin beyond version 3.2.1 where vendor or WordPress guidance supports it.
- If updates are unavailable, disable the plugin until vendor guidance is confirmed.
- Limit administrator browsing from active WordPress sessions where practical.
- Review recent custom field metadata changes for unexpected modifications.
Validation and detection
- Check WordPress plugin inventories for Locations versions 3.2.1 or earlier.
- Confirm whether the installed version includes nonce validation for saveCustomFields().
- Review WordPress admin audit logs for unexpected custom field metadata updates.
- Verify remediation by confirming the plugin is updated, disabled, or otherwise mitigated.
- Track vendor, Wordfence, and WordPress plugin repository guidance for current status.
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-2021-4394 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/3df9f237-a861-43fc-8623-d42f84d8d5d1?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=2548546%40locations&new=2548546%40locations&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.