Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-4419 affects the WP-Backgrounds Lite WordPress plugin through version 2.3. An attacker could trick a logged-in site administrator into taking an action that saves plugin metadata through a forged request. The known impact is limited to integrity, not data theft or service outage.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority WordPress hygiene issue. It is not shown as actively exploited, but affected sites should be updated or cleaned up because successful abuse can change site configuration data through an administrator’s browser.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-352 cross-site request forgery caused by missing or incorrect nonce validation in the ino_save_data() function. The CVSS 3.1 score is 4.3, with network reachability, low attack complexity, required user interaction, and low integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running WP-Backgrounds Lite version 2.3 or earlier, especially where administrators browse external links while authenticated. The source bundle does not identify affected non-WordPress products.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires persuading a site administrator to perform an action, such as clicking a crafted link, while authenticated to WordPress.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies ino_save_data() nonce validation as the root issue. The provided bundle names vulnerable versions through 2.3 but does not clearly name a fixed version, so remediation should be tied to current vendor or WordPress.org plugin guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for WP-Backgrounds Lite installations and versions.
- Update WP-Backgrounds Lite if vendor guidance identifies a fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin if no supported fixed version is available.
- Limit WordPress administrator access to trusted users only.
- Advise administrators not to follow untrusted links while logged in.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether WP-Backgrounds Lite is installed on each WordPress site.
- Compare installed plugin versions against the vulnerable range: 2.3 and earlier.
- Review recent plugin settings or metadata changes for unexpected modifications.
- Check vendor and WordPress.org plugin guidance for current remediation status.
- Validate in staging that sensitive plugin updates require proper nonce checks.
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-2021-4419 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/d7a05894-8f9d-442f-961c-2e80aa25c3db?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/wp-backgrounds-lite/trunk/inoplugs_background_plugin.php#L179CVE 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.