CVE-2021-34624

published 2021-07-07

CVE-2021-34624: A vulnerability in the file uploader component found in the ~/src/Classes/FileUploader.php file of the ProfilePress WordPress plugin made it possible for users…

Priority P1 81 critical 9.8 CVSS 3.1

AV N AC L PR N UI N S U C H I H A H

ITW EXPLOIT VulnCheck KEV

A vulnerability in the file uploader component found in the ~/src/Classes/FileUploader.php file of the ProfilePress WordPress plugin made it possible for users to upload arbitrary files during user registration or during profile updates. This issue affects versions 3.0.0 - 3.1.3. .

Affected

2 ranges

Vendor	Product	Version range	Fixed in
profilepress	profilepress	—	—
properfraction	profilepress	3.0.0 – 3.1.3	—

Detection & IOCs extracted from sources · hover to see the quote

path /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php↗

path /wp-content/uploads/pp-files/↗

path ~/src/Classes/FileUploader.php↗

command action=pp_ajax_signup↗

other fofa-query: body="/wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/"↗

yara↗

rule CVE_2021_34624_ProfilePress_FileUpload { strings: $action = "pp_ajax_signup" $upload_path = "/wp-content/uploads/pp-files/" condition: $action and $upload_path }

• → Alert on GET requests to /wp-content/uploads/pp-files/*.php — successful exploitation results in a PHP webshell accessible at this path returning HTTP 200 with text/html content type. ↗
• → Look for multipart form-data uploads where the file part carries Content-Type: application/x-php alongside a .php filename during the pp_ajax_signup registration action — this is the exact exploit delivery mechanism. ↗
• → Detect privilege escalation attempts within the same registration request: the exploit also submits wp_capabilities[administrator]=1 to attempt admin role assignment during signup. ↗
• → Use the publicwww/FOFA fingerprint to identify exposed instances: search for body containing /wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/ to find potentially vulnerable targets. ↗

• · The vulnerability affects only ProfilePress plugin versions 3.0.0 through 3.1.3; version 3.1.4 and later are patched. ↗
• · The exploit is unauthenticated — it abuses the user registration flow (pp_ajax_signup), so no prior credentials are required, making it exploitable against any publicly accessible WordPress site with the vulnerable plugin active. ↗
• · The nuclei template requires exactly 2 HTTP requests (registration + webshell fetch) and is marked intrusive; running it against production systems will create a real user account and upload a file. ↗

CVSS provenance

nvd v3.1 9.8 CRITICAL CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd v2.0 7.5 HIGH AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

vulncheck 9.8 CRITICAL

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CWE-434