Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A logged-in WordPress user with contributor-level access and Elementor editing rights could turn that limited access into full administrator control on affected sites using Essential Addons for Elementor up to 4.6.4. This is high business risk because administrator access can enable content tampering, account takeover, plugin changes, and broader site compromise.
Executive priority
Treat this as a near-term remediation priority for public WordPress sites, especially where contributors, contractors, or shared editorial accounts exist. The likely impact is full site administration, but the bundle does not prove active exploitation.
Technical view
The plugin lacked proper authorization checks around adding an Elementor registration form and setting its custom registration role. An authenticated low-privileged user with builder access could configure registration to assign administrator role, then create an administrative account. The issue maps to CWE-862 and has CVSS 3.1 score 8.8.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on WordPress sites running Essential Addons for Elementor up to 4.6.4 where contributor or higher users can access Elementor page building. Sites without this plugin, without untrusted content editors, or already remediated per vendor guidance have lower exposure.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability is still serious because it requires only authenticated low-privileged access and no user interaction, and successful abuse could create administrator-level access.
Researcher notes
The affected-version metadata in the bundle is incomplete, while the description and title identify versions up to 4.6.4. Use vendor references to confirm fixed versions. Focus validation on authorization around registration form creation, custom role assignment, and Elementor capability boundaries.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all WordPress sites using Essential Addons for Elementor.
- Check vendor or WordPress plugin guidance for the fixed release.
- Update or disable the plugin where affected versions remain installed.
- Restrict Elementor editing access to trusted administrators only.
- Review and remove unexpected administrator accounts.
Validation and detection
- Inventory plugin versions across all WordPress environments.
- Flag Essential Addons for Elementor versions up to 4.6.4.
- Review Elementor pages for registration forms assigning privileged roles.
- Audit recent administrator account creation and role changes.
- Confirm low-privileged users cannot configure registration role defaults.
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 lookupCVE-2021-4447 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:L/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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/be098ee9-b749-4908-85e8-e717d019609a?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=2526471%40essential-addons-for-elementor-lite&new=2526471%40essential-addons-for-elementor-lite&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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.