CVE-2020-5244: Buddypress/buddypress Private Data Exposure Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3j78-7m59-r7gv
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CVSS 8.0
CWE-284
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-5244 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.0) private data exposure vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting Buddypress/buddypress libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves private data exposure via rest api in buddypress. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.1.2.

CVE-2020-5244 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-5244
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3j78-7m59-r7gv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.0
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product Buddypress/buddypress
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.0

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-5244

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: 5.1.2 
Upgrade buddypress/buddypress to 5.1.2
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-2020-5244, 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 5.1.2), 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-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. 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

In BuddyPress before 5.1.2, requests to a certain REST API endpoint can result in private user data getting exposed. Authentication is not needed. This has been patched in version 5.1.2.

CVE-2020-5244 Affected Buddypress/buddypress Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.1.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
buddypress/buddypress
 Packagist
< 5.1.2
5.1.2

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress/security/advisories/GHSA-3j78-7m59-r7gv
NVD — CVE-2020-5244 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5244
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress/commit/39294680369a0c992290577a9d740f4a2f2c2ca3
buddypress.org/2020/01/buddypress-... WEB
https://buddypress.org/2020/01/buddypress-5-1-2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-5244?
CVE-2020-5244 is a security vulnerability in Buddypress/buddypress involving Private data exposure via REST API in BuddyPress under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which Buddypress/buddypress versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.1.2 across affected packages: buddypress/buddypress.
What version fixes CVE-2020-5244?
Upgrading to 5.1.2 (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 5.1.2. Upgrade your dependency to 5.1.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-5244?
CVE-2020-5244 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-5244?
CVE-2020-5244 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2020-5244?
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-3j78-7m59-r7gv",
  "modified" : "2021-01-08T20:29:11Z",
  "published" : "2020-02-24T17:18:26Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-5244" ],
  "summary" : "Private data exposure via REST API in BuddyPress",
  "details" : "In BuddyPress before 5.1.2, requests to a certain REST API endpoint can result in private user data getting exposed. Authentication is not needed.\n\nThis has been patched in version 5.1.2.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "buddypress/buddypress"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.1.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress/security/advisories/GHSA-3j78-7m59-r7gv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5244"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/buddypress/BuddyPress/commit/39294680369a0c992290577a9d740f4a2f2c2ca3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://buddypress.org/2020/01/buddypress-5-1-2"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-02-24T17:18:06Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}