CVE-2021-21389 BuddyPress privilege escalation via REST API
A regular user can gain administrator rights by exploiting the REST API members endpoint in the BuddyPress WordPress plugin.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2021-21389?
CVE-2021-21389 is a high-severity vulnerability in BuddyPress, published on 26 Mar 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
BuddyPress is an open source WordPress plugin to build a community site. In releases of BuddyPress from 5.0.0 before 7.2.1 it's possible for a non-privileged, regular user to obtain administrator rights by exploiting an issue in the REST API members endpoint. The vulnerability has been fixed in BuddyPress 7.2.1. Existing installations of the plugin should be updated to this version to mitigate the issue.
Weakness: CWE-863
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21389?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including buddypress/buddypress. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
buddypress/buddypress Packagist | From 5.0.0 | 7.2.1 |
buddypress/buddypress Packagist | From 5.0.0 | 7.2.1 |
Products include Buddypress Buddypress.
How do I fix CVE-2021-21389?
Upgrade buddypress/buddypress to 7.2.1 or later.
Is CVE-2021-21389 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-21389 exists.
Public exploit code: 1 Nuclei template and 2 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in BuddyPress
- CVE-2024-10011 BuddyPress <= 14.1.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Directory Traversal
- CVE-2020-5244 Private data exposure via REST API in BuddyPress
- CVE-2012-2109 SQL injection in n/a
- CVE-2025-23798 WordPress Mass Messaging in BuddyPress Plugin <= 2.2.1 - Reflected Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability
- CVE-2023-50880 WordPress BuddyPress Plugin <= 11.3.1 is vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
Sources
Also known as GHSA-m6j4-8r7p-wpp3.