Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A logged-in low-privilege WordPress user could delete posts through the aDirectory plugin. This is mainly a content integrity and operational disruption issue, not a data theft issue based on the supplied evidence.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority WordPress content integrity risk. Prioritize externally accessible sites with public registration because low-privilege users could remove business content and disrupt customer-facing directory listings.
Technical view
CVE-2024-13541 is a missing authorization flaw in aDirectory’s adqs_delete_listing() function. Versions up to and including 2.3 allow authenticated Subscriber-level users or higher to delete arbitrary posts. CVSS is 4.3, reflecting low-complexity authenticated abuse with integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running aDirectory up to version 2.3 with accounts available to untrusted users. Sites with public registration, customer portals, contributors, or marketplace-style user access have higher practical risk.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Abuse requires a valid authenticated account, but Subscriber access is common on WordPress sites that allow registration.
Researcher notes
Evidence points to CWE-862 missing authorization in adqs_delete_listing(). The Trac references show affected code locations across historical tags and a plugin changeset, but the supplied bundle does not name a fixed version or provide exploitation evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all WordPress sites using aDirectory and record plugin versions.
- Update aDirectory beyond version 2.3 if the vendor provides a fixed release.
- If no fixed release is available, disable the plugin or restrict it temporarily.
- Limit public registration and remove unnecessary Subscriber-level accounts.
- Back up content and prepare recovery for deleted posts.
Validation and detection
- Check WordPress inventories for aDirectory versions up to and including 2.3.
- Review whether public or untrusted users can authenticate to affected sites.
- Confirm vendor guidance or Wordfence status for the fixed plugin release.
- Review WordPress audit logs for unexpected post deletions by low-privilege accounts.
- Verify post recovery and backup restoration procedures.
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-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 lookupCVE-2024-13541 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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c99b8a94-c35b-43a1-bb14-2ca97be421cc?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/adirectory/tags/1.3.4/inc/Frontend/Ajax.php#L115CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/adirectory/tags/1.9.5/inc/Frontend/Ajax.php#L115CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/adirectory/tags/2.1/inc/Frontend/Ajax.php#L113CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=3235167%40adirectory&new=3235167%40adirectory&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.