Menu
iThemes
WordPress Backup, Security & Maintenance
  • Products
    • iThemes Security Pro
    • BackupBuddy
    • Kadence WP
    • Restrict Content Pro
    • iThemes Sync
    • Why buy from iThemes?
  • Bundles
    • Essentials Bundle
    • Plugin Suite
    • WordPress Web Designer’s Toolkit
    • Customer Spotlights
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • WordPress 101 Tutorials
    • WordPress Ebooks
    • Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report
    • The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Web Design Business
  • Training
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Free Webinar Library
    • Premium Courses
    • Become a Member
    • Member Login
  • Support
    • Documentation
    • Get Help
    • Product Updates
    • Upgrade Policy
    • Contact
    • Our Mission: Make People’s Lives Awesome
  • Log In
WordPress News and Updates from iThemes
Categories
  • Product Updates
  • WordPress Backup
  • WordPress Block Editor
  • WordPress Ecommerce
  • WordPress for Freelancers
  • WordPress Maintenance
  • WordPress Security
  • WordPress Training Webinars
  • WordPress Tutorials
  • WPprosper

WordPress Vulnerability Report: August 2021, Part 2

Written by Michael Moore on August 11, 2021

Last Updated on August 11, 2021

Vulnerable plugins and themes are the #1 reason WordPress websites get hacked. The weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report powered by WPScan covers recent WordPress plugin, theme, and core vulnerabilities, and what to do if you run one of the vulnerable plugins or themes on your website.

Each vulnerability will have a severity rating of Low, Medium, High, or Critical. Responsible disclosure and reporting of vulnerabilities is an integral part of keeping the WordPress community safe.

As one of the largest WordPress Vulnerability Reports to date, please share this post with your friends to help get the word out and make WordPress safer for everyone.

Contents of the August 4, 2021 Report
    Want this report delivered to your inbox each week?
    Sign me up!

    WordPress Core Vulnerabilities

    No new WordPress core vulnerabilities have been disclosed this month.

    1. Sitewide Notice WP

    Plugin: Sitewide Notice WP
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored XSS
    Patched in Version: 2.3
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.3.

    2. Business Hours Indicator

    Plugin: Business Hours Indicator 
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored XSS
    Patched in Version: 2.3.5
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.3.5.

    3. Bold Page Builder

    Plugin: Bold Page Builder
    Vulnerability: PHP Object Injection
    Patched in Version: 3.1.6
    Severity Score: Medium

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 3.1.6.

    4. ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics

    Plugin: ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics
    Vulnerability: Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    Patched in Version: 2.5.2
    Severity Score: High

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.5.2.

    5. StoryChief

    Plugin: StoryChief
    Vulnerability: Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    Patched in Version: 1.0.31
    Severity Score: High

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.0.31.

    Plugin: StoryChief
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    Patched in Version: 1.0.31
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.0.31.

    6. WP LMS

    Plugin: WP LMS
    Vulnerability: Unauthenticated Arbitrary User Field Edition/Creation
    Patched in Version: 1.1.5
    Severity Score: Medium

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.1.5.

    7. VDZ Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager / GTM

    Plugin: VDZ Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager / GTM
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored XSS
    Patched in Version: 1.6.0
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 11.6.0.

    Plugin: VDZ Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager / GTM
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored XSS
    Patched in Version: 1.4.9
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 11.6.0.

    8. Cooked

    Plugin: Cooked 
    Vulnerability: Unauthenticated Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    Patched in Version: 1.7.9.1
    Severity Score: Medium

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.7.9.1.

    9. Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses

    Plugin: Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses
    Vulnerability: Reflected Cross Site Scripting
    Patched in Version: 2.1.2
    Severity Score: Medium

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.1.2.

    10. SMS Alert Order Notifications – WooCommerce

    Plugin: SMS Alert Order Notifications – WooCommerce
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Cross Site Scripting
    Patched in Version: 3.4.7
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 3.4.7.

    11. HM Multiple Roles

    Plugin: HM Multiple Roles
    Vulnerability: Arbitrary Role Change
    Patched in Version: 1.3
    Severity Score: Critical

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.3.

    12. WP Customize Login

    Plugin: WP Customize Login
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    Patched in Version: No known fix
    Severity Score: Low

    This vulnerability has NOT been patched. Uninstall and delete the plugin until a patch is released.

    13. User Rights Access Manager 

    Plugin: User Rights Access Manager 
    Vulnerability: Access Restriction Bypass
    Patched in Version: No known fix
    Severity Score: Medium

    This vulnerability has NOT been patched. Uninstall and delete the plugin until a patch is released.

    14. JiangQie Official Website Mini Program

    Plugin: JiangQie Official Website Mini Program
    Vulnerability: Authenticated SQL Injection
    Patched in Version: 1.1.1
    Severity Score: Critical

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.1.1.

    15. Welcart e-Commerce

    Plugin: Welcart e-Commerce
    Vulnerability: Unauthenticated Information Disclosure
    Patched in Version: 2.2.8
    Severity Score: High

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.2.8.

    Plugin: Welcart e-Commerce
    Vulnerability: Authenticated System Information Disclosure
    Patched in Version: 2.2.8
    Severity Score: Medium

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.2.8.

    16. Highlight

    Plugin: Highlight
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting
    Patched in Version: 0.9.3
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 0.9.3.

    17. Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for GDPR & CCPA Compliance

    Plugin: Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for GDPR & CCPA Compliance
    Vulnerability: Authenticated Stored XSS
    Patched in Version: 1.7.2
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 1.7.2.

    18. Pods

    Plugin: Pods
    Vulnerability: Multiple Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
    Patched in Version: 2.7.29
    Severity Score: Low

    The vulnerability is patched, so you should update to version 2.7.29.

    WordPress Theme Vulnerabilities

    No new WordPress theme vulnerabilities have been disclosed this month.

    A Note on Responsible Disclosure

    You might be wondering why a vulnerability would be disclosed if it gives hackers an exploit to attack. Well, it is very common for a security researcher to find and privately report the vulnerability to the software developer.

    With responsible disclosure, the researcher’s initial report is made privately to the developers of the company that owns the software, but with an agreement that the full details will be published once a patch has been made available. For significant security vulnerabilities, there may be a slight delay in disclosing the vulnerability to give more people time to patch.

    The security researcher may provide a deadline for the software developer to respond to the report or to provide a patch. If this deadline is not met, then the researcher may publicly disclose the vulnerability to put pressure on the developer to issue a patch.

    Publicly disclosing a vulnerability and seemingly introducing a Zero-Day vulnerability–a type of vulnerability that has no patch and is being exploited in the wild– may seem counterproductive. But, it is the only leverage that a researcher has to pressure the developer to patch the vulnerability.

    If a hacker were to discover the vulnerability, they could quietly use the Exploit and cause damage to the end-user(this is you), while the software developer remains content on leaving the vulnerability unpatched. Google’s Project Zero has similar guidelines when it comes to disclosing vulnerabilities. They publish the full details of the vulnerability after 90 days whether or not the vulnerability has been patched.

    How to Protect Your WordPress Website From Vulnerable Plugins and Themes

    As you can see from this report, lots of new WordPress plugin and theme vulnerabilities are disclosed each week. We know it can be difficult to stay on top of every reported vulnerability disclosure, so the iThemes Security Pro plugin makes it easy to make sure your site isn’t running a theme, plugin or WordPress core version with a known vulnerability.

    1. Turn on the iThemes Security Pro Site Scanner

    The iThemes Security Pro plugin’s Site Scanner scans for the #1 reason WordPress sites get hacked: outdated plugins and themes with known vulnerabilities. The Site Scanner checks your site for known vulnerabilities and automatically applies a patch if one is available.

    To enable the Site Scan on new installs, navigate to the Site Check tab on the Features menu inside the plugin and click the toggle to enable the Site Scan.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is enable-site-scan-1-1024x519.png

    To trigger a manual Site Scan, click the Scan Now button on the Site Scan Security Dashboard card.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Site-Scans-Security-Card.png

    If the Site Scan detects a vulnerability, click the vulnerability link to view the details page.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is vulnerabilities-details-page-1024x580.png

    On the Site Scan vulnerability page, you will see if there is a fix available for the vulnerability. If there is a patch available, you can click the Update Plugin button to apply the fix on your website.

    2. Turn on Version Management

    The Version Management feature in iThemes Security Pro integrates with the Site Scan to protect your site when outdated software is not updated quickly enough. Even the strongest security measures will fail if you are running vulnerable software on your website. These settings help protect your site with options to update to new versions automatically if a known vulnerability exists and a patch is available.

    From the Settings page in iThemes Security Pro, navigate to the Features screen. Click the Site Check tab. From here, use the toggle to enable Version Management. Using the settings gear, you can configure even more settings, including how you want iThemes Security Pro to handle updates to WordPress, plugins, themes, and additional protection.

    Make sure to select Auto Update if it Fixes a Vulnerability box so that iThemes Security Pro will automatically update a plugin or theme if it fixes a vulnerability that was found by the Site Scanner.

    iThemes Security Pro version management

    3. Get an Email Alert When iThemes Security Pro Finds a Known Vulnerability On Your Site

    Once you’ve enabled Site Scan Scheduling, head to the Notification Center settings of the plugin. On this screen, scroll to the Site Scan Results section.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is site-scan-results-1024x550.jpg

    Click the box to enable the notification email and then click the Save Settings button.

    Now, during any scheduled site scans, you’ll get an email if iThemes Security Pro discovers any known vulnerabilities. The email will look something like this.

    site-scan-results

    Get iThemes Security Pro and Rest a Little Easier Tonight

    iThemes Security Pro, our WordPress security plugin, offers 50+ ways to secure and protect your website from common WordPress security vulnerabilities. With WordPress, two-factor authentication, brute force protection, strong password enforcement, and more, you can add an extra layer of security to your website.

    • Site scanner for plugin and theme vulnerabilities
    • Real-time website security dashboard
    • File change detection
    • WordPress security logs
    • Trusted devices
    • reCAPTCHA
    • Brute force protection
    • Two-factor authentication
    • Magic login links
    • Privilege escalation
    • Compromised passwords check & refusal

    Get iThemes Security Pro

    Share via:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • More
    Other related posts
    WordPress Vulnerability Report
    WordPress Vulnerability Report – May 25, 2022
    Website security matters to your business
    Why Website Security Matters to Your Business
    wordpress vulnerability report
    WordPress Vulnerability Report – May 18, 2022
    wordpress-website-hacked
    How Do Websites Get Hacked?

    Get updates on new themes & plugins plus special discounts

    About iThemes

    • The Team
    • Contact Us
    • Website Accessibility Statement
    • Sitemap

    Resources

    • Blog
    • Documentation
    • WordPress Tutorials
    • Free WordPress Ebooks
    • Free Webinar Library
    • Free Upcoming Webinars
    • iThemes Training
    • Affiliates

    Customers

    • Member Panel Login
    • Support
    • FAQs
    • Upgrade Policy
    • Licensing
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Refund Policy

    Top Products

    • BackupBuddy
    • iThemes Security Pro
    • iThemes Sync
    • Restrict Content Pro
    • WPComplete
    • WordPress Hosting
    • WordPress Plugins
    • Content Upgrades
    • WordPress Landing Page Plugin
    • BackupBuddy Stash

    iThemes Media LLC Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved | Privacy Policy

    © 2022 All Rights Reserved.

    Share via
    Facebook
    Twitter
    LinkedIn
    Mix
    Email
    Print
    Copy Link
    Powered by Social Snap
    Copy link
    CopyCopied
    Powered by Social Snap

    Get the Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report

    Vulnerable WordPress plugins and themes are the #1 reason WordPress sites get hacked, but keeping track of every new plugin and theme vulnerability is hard work. Get the weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report delivered right to your inbox to help keep your website secure.
    No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.