CVE-2021-21389: Buddypress/buddypress BuddyPress Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m6j4-8r7p-wpp3
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CVSS 8.1
CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-21389 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) buddypress privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting Buddypress/buddypress libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves buddypress privilege escalation via rest api. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.2.1.

CVE-2021-21389 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-21389
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m6j4-8r7p-wpp3
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
Affected Product Buddypress/buddypress
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-21389

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

buddypress/buddypress fixed: 7.2.1 
Upgrade buddypress/buddypress to 7.2.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for buddypress/buddypress

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-21389, inspect your project dependencies for Buddypress/buddypress:

inspect dependencies for buddypress/buddypress

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Buddypress/buddypress in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 7.2.1), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization, where the product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. In Buddypress/buddypress, 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

### Impact It's possible for a non-privileged, regular user to obtain administrator rights by exploiting an issue in the BuddyPress REST API members endpoint. ### Patches The vulnerability has been fixed in BuddyPress 7.2.1. Existing installations of the plugin should be updated to this version to mitigate the issue. ### References https://buddypress.org/2021/03/buddypress-7-2-1-security-release/ ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [HackerOne](https://hackerone.com/wordpress)

CVE-2021-21389 Affected Buddypress/buddypress Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.2.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
buddypress/buddypress
 Packagist
≥ 5.0.0
< 7.2.1
7.2.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress/security/advisories/GHSA-m6j4-8r7p-wpp3
NVD — CVE-2021-21389 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21389
Buddypress/buddypress Release RELEASE
https://buddypress.org/2021/03/buddypress-7-2-1-security-release
codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-... WEB
https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-2-1
Buddypress/buddypress Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-21389?
CVE-2021-21389 is a security vulnerability in Buddypress/buddypress involving BuddyPress privilege escalation via REST API under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization.
Which Buddypress/buddypress versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.2.1 across affected packages: buddypress/buddypress.
What version fixes CVE-2021-21389?
Upgrading to 7.2.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is buddypress/buddypress affected?
Yes, buddypress/buddypress is affected in releases prior to 7.2.1. Upgrade your dependency to 7.2.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-21389?
CVE-2021-21389 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-21389?
CVE-2021-21389 is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization (The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2021-21389?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for buddypress/buddypress'. 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-m6j4-8r7p-wpp3",
  "modified" : "2021-10-06T16:57:01Z",
  "published" : "2021-10-06T17:46:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-21389" ],
  "summary" : "BuddyPress privilege escalation via REST API",
  "details" : "### Impact\nIt's possible for a non-privileged, regular user to obtain administrator rights by exploiting an issue in the BuddyPress REST API members endpoint.\n\n### Patches\nThe vulnerability has been fixed in BuddyPress 7.2.1. Existing installations of the plugin should be updated to this version to mitigate the issue.\n\n### References\nhttps://buddypress.org/2021/03/buddypress-7-2-1-security-release/\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [HackerOne](https://hackerone.com/wordpress)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "buddypress/buddypress"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.2.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress/security/advisories/GHSA-m6j4-8r7p-wpp3"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21389"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://buddypress.org/2021/03/buddypress-7-2-1-security-release"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-2-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-10-06T16:57:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-03-26T21:15:00Z"
  }
}