ElasticPress <= 3.5.3 - Cross-Site Request Forgery Bypass
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Tampering
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-352.
Summary
The ElasticPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in versions up to, and including, 3.5.3. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the epio_send_autosuggest_allowed() function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send allowed parameters for autosuggest to elasticpress[.]io via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-4405
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vf57-4qjx-vrj8
References
Advisory 2
Other 6
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/25-wordpress-plugins-vulnerable-to-csrf-attacks/
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/more-wordpress-plugins-and-themes-vulnerable-to-csrf-attacks/
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-3/
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-2/
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-5/
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-4/
More 10up Elasticpress vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-23553 WordPress ElasticPress plugin <= 5.1.1 - Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 4.3
Sources
- CVE-2021-4405 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-4405 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vf57-4qjx-vrj8 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences