CVE-2020-36157: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4qr9-9cg9-9gvw
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CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36157 is a CRITICAL security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2020-36157 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36157
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4qr9-9cg9-9gvw
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2020-36157

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-36157, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

An issue was discovered in the Ultimate Member plugin before 2.1.12 for WordPress, aka Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via User Roles. Due to the lack of filtering on the role parameter that could be supplied during the registration process, an attacker could supply the role parameter with a WordPress capability (or any custom Ultimate Member role) and effectively be granted those privileges.

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36157 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36157
wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-me... WEB
https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-member/#developers
wpscan.com/vulnerability/33f05... WEB
https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/33f059c5-58e5-44b9-bb27-793c3cedef3b
www.wordfence.com/blog/2020/11/critic... WEB
https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2020/11/critical-privilege-escalation-vulnerabilities-affect-100k-sites-using-ultimate-member-plugin

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36157?
CVE-2020-36157 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36157?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-36157?
CVE-2020-36157 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-36157?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4qr9-9cg9-9gvw",
  "modified" : "2022-05-24T17:37:55Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:37:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36157" ],
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the Ultimate Member plugin before 2.1.12 for WordPress, aka Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation via User Roles. Due to the lack of filtering on the role parameter that could be supplied during the registration process, an attacker could supply the role parameter with a WordPress capability (or any custom Ultimate Member role) and effectively be granted those privileges.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36157"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-member/#developers"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/33f059c5-58e5-44b9-bb27-793c3cedef3b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2020/11/critical-privilege-escalation-vulnerabilities-affect-100k-sites-using-ultimate-member-plugin"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-01-04T18:15:00Z"
  }
}