CVE-2024-24709: Shareaholic Missing Authorization Vulnerability – Update Required

Technical summary

CVE-2024-24709 is a CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) vulnerability in Shareaholic affecting versions through 9.7.11. The flaw stems from insufficient access control validation on sensitive operations. When a user makes a request to protected functionality, the application does not adequately verify whether that user has the necessary permissions before executing the action. The CVSS 3.1 score of 4.3 (MEDIUM severity) reflects that exploitation requires authentication and results in integrity impact without confidentiality or availability loss. The attack vector is network-based with low complexity, meaning no special conditions are needed beyond a valid user account.

Business impact

This vulnerability creates insider risk and cross-user interference potential. Authenticated users—including those with restricted roles like contributors or subscribers—could modify shared content, plugin settings, or other users' configurations that should be off-limits. For publishing platforms, SaaS environments, or multi-tenant WordPress installations using Shareaholic, this could lead to unintended content changes, misconfigured sharing policies, or disrupted workflows. The impact is contained to data integrity (no data theft or service disruption), but unauthorized modifications could damage trust and require audit and rollback efforts.

Affected systems

The vulnerability affects Shareaholic plugin versions from the earliest tracked release through version 9.7.11. Shareaholic is a WordPress plugin focused on social sharing and content analytics. Any WordPress installation running Shareaholic 9.7.11 or earlier is potentially vulnerable if users with lower privilege levels are present. Self-hosted WordPress sites, managed WordPress hosting platforms, and multisite WordPress networks are all in scope.

Exploitability

Exploitation requires an authenticated user account on the WordPress site; it cannot be triggered by anonymous visitors. A low-privilege user (such as a Contributor or minimal Subscriber role if the plugin extends permissions) can craft requests to alter settings or content controlled by higher-privilege users. The attack complexity is low—no special conditions, race conditions, or user interaction is needed. The vulnerability is straightforward to exploit once a valid account is obtained, making it practical for disgruntled employees, compromised low-privilege accounts, or test users in staging environments who exceed their intended authority.

Remediation

Update Shareaholic to a patched version released after 9.7.11. Verify the exact patched version in the official Shareaholic or WordPress.org plugin repository. Until a patch is available, restrict Shareaholic plugin access by limiting which user roles can view or configure the plugin settings using WordPress capability management or a dedicated access control plugin. Audit user roles and remove unnecessary elevated permissions. Review WordPress user activity logs to identify any suspicious configuration changes.

Patch guidance

Monitor the Shareaholic official documentation, WordPress.org plugin page, and your WordPress dashboard for version updates. When a patched version is released, apply it immediately to all affected WordPress installations. Test the update in a staging environment first to ensure compatibility with your theme and other plugins. Verify that the fix properly enforces authorization checks by confirming that lower-privilege users can no longer access restricted plugin functions.

Detection guidance

Enable and monitor WordPress audit logging or use a security plugin (such as Wordfence or Sucuri) to track changes to Shareaholic settings and content modifications. Look for admin-level configuration changes originating from low-privilege user accounts, repeated failed permission checks (if logging is available), or unexpected alterations to sharing policies. Review database activity logs if your hosting provider offers them. Check WordPress edit post/page history to identify unauthorized modifications coinciding with Shareaholic plugin activity.

Why prioritize this

Although rated MEDIUM severity, this vulnerability should be prioritized for update because it enables privilege escalation in multi-user environments and could be exploited by internal users or compromised low-privilege accounts. The fix is straightforward (update to a patched release), and the risk of unauthorized data modification affecting content integrity or user trust is material. Organizations with strict content governance, publishing workflows, or regulatory compliance requirements should treat this as high-priority.

Risk score, explained

CVSS 3.1 score of 4.3 reflects low-to-moderate risk: authentication is required (reducing the attack surface), and the impact is limited to integrity (unauthorized modification) with no confidentiality breach or service disruption. However, the ease of exploitation and presence of authenticated users in typical WordPress deployments mean real-world risk is context-dependent. Multi-user sites and those with weak password policies face elevated practical risk despite the moderate CVSS rating.

Frequently asked questions