Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a WordPress plugin issue in Style Kits. If an administrator can be tricked into clicking a malicious link, an unauthenticated attacker may change post style kit settings. The risk is business-impacting because trusted site content and presentation could be altered through an admin’s browser session.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority WordPress hygiene item, especially for public marketing or customer-facing sites. The issue is not listed as actively exploited in the provided sources, but compromise could undermine site integrity and trust.
Technical view
CVE-2021-4401 is a CSRF flaw in Style Kits up to and including 1.8.0. The update_posts_stylekit() function had missing or incorrect nonce validation, allowing forged requests through an authenticated administrator’s browser. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact claimed by the record.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with the Style Kits plugin installed at version 1.8.0 or older. The attack requires administrator interaction, so public sites with active WordPress administrators are the main concern.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires social engineering an administrator into performing an action, such as clicking a link, that submits a forged request.
Researcher notes
The key vulnerability detail is missing or incorrect nonce validation in update_posts_stylekit(). The WordPress Trac changeset is relevant for fix review, but the bundle does not provide a clear fixed version number beyond the vulnerable <=1.8.0 statement.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Style Kits or analogwp templates usage.
- Upgrade affected installations to a vendor-supported release with the nonce validation fix.
- If no fixed release is available, disable or remove the plugin.
- Limit WordPress administrator accounts to users who need them.
- Warn administrators against clicking untrusted links while authenticated to WordPress.
Validation and detection
- Check installed plugin versions and flag Style Kits 1.8.0 or older.
- Review WordPress plugin changelog or vendor guidance for the nonce validation fix.
- Confirm update_posts_stylekit() requests require valid nonce validation after remediation.
- Review recent post style kit changes for unexpected modifications.
- Check web logs for suspicious admin-initiated style kit update requests.
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-2021-4401 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:N/UI:R/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:R/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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7cb08fc1-fb8b-4478-8569-eb9b28aff50b?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/2473676/analogwp-templates/trunk/inc/class-quick-edit.phpCVE 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.