CVE-2020-13693: Bbpress/bbpress BbPress Unauthenticated Privilege-escalation Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mwxh-6j9v-45ph
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-13693 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) bbpress unauthenticated privilege-escalation vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Bbpress/bbpress libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves bbpress unauthenticated privilege-escalation. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.6.5.

CVE-2020-13693 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-13693
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mwxh-6j9v-45ph
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Bbpress/bbpress
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-13693

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

bbpress/bbpress fixed: 2.6.5 
Upgrade bbpress/bbpress to 2.6.5
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 bbpress/bbpress

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-13693, inspect your project dependencies for Bbpress/bbpress:

inspect dependencies for bbpress/bbpress

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Bbpress/bbpress in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.6.5), 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-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 Bbpress/bbpress, 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 unauthenticated privilege-escalation issue exists in the bbPress plugin before 2.6.5 for WordPress when New User Registration is enabled.

CVE-2020-13693 Affected Bbpress/bbpress Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.6.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
bbpress/bbpress
 Packagist
< 2.6.5
2.6.5

References

NVD — CVE-2020-13693 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13693
bbpress.org/blog/2020/05/bbpres... WEB
https://bbpress.org/blog/2020/05/bbpress-2-6-5-is-out
codex.bbpress.org/releases WEB
https://codex.bbpress.org/releases
Bbpress/bbpress Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/bbpress/bbPress
wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress/ WEB
https://wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress/#developers
Bbpress/bbpress Security Information SECURITY
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157885/WordPress-BBPress-2.5-Privilege-Escalation.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-13693?
CVE-2020-13693 is a security vulnerability in Bbpress/bbpress involving bbPress unauthenticated privilege-escalation under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Bbpress/bbpress versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.6.5 across affected packages: bbpress/bbpress.
What version fixes CVE-2020-13693?
Upgrading to 2.6.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is bbpress/bbpress affected?
Yes, bbpress/bbpress is affected in releases prior to 2.6.5. Upgrade your dependency to 2.6.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-13693?
CVE-2020-13693 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-13693?
CVE-2020-13693 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 Packagist dependencies for CVE-2020-13693?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for bbpress/bbpress'. 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-mwxh-6j9v-45ph",
  "modified" : "2024-04-25T21:39:38Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:18:50Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-13693" ],
  "summary" : "bbPress unauthenticated privilege-escalation",
  "details" : "An unauthenticated privilege-escalation issue exists in the bbPress plugin before 2.6.5 for WordPress when New User Registration is enabled.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "bbpress/bbpress"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.6.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13693"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bbpress.org/blog/2020/05/bbpress-2-6-5-is-out"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://codex.bbpress.org/releases"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/bbpress/bbPress"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress/#developers"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157885/WordPress-BBPress-2.5-Privilege-Escalation.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-25T21:39:38Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-05-29T00:15:00Z"
  }
}