# CVE-2021-24215: Controlled Admin Access < 1.5.2 - Improper Access Control & Privilege Escalation

> Unauthenticated attackers can access admin customization and settings pages, leading to privilege escalation and potential site compromise.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5wrq-c7c8-h4hx

## What is CVE-2021-24215?

CVE-2021-24215 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Unknown Controlled Admin Access, published on 12 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An Improper Access Control vulnerability was discovered in the Controlled Admin Access WordPress plugin before 1.5.2. Uncontrolled access to the website customization functionality and global CMS settings, like /wp-admin/customization.php and /wp-admin/options.php, can lead to a complete compromise of the target resource.

Weakness: CWE-425 (Direct Request), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-24215?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wpruby Controlled Admin Access.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-24215?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-24215 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-24215 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-24215 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Controlled Admin Access WordPress Plugin <= 1.4.0 - Improper Access Control & Privilege Escalation (nuclei): http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-24215.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Unknown Controlled Admin Access

- [CVE-2021-4360](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4360/): Controlled Admin Access < 1.5.6 - Privilege Escalation (critical 9.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-24215 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-24215 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Unknown Controlled Admin Access, published on 12 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-24215 exists.

Affected product: Unknown Controlled Admin Access. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24215/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24215/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24215
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24215
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24215

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24215/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.