# CVE-2021-42359: WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) <= 3.1.23 Unauthenticated Arbitrary Post Deletion

> Unauthenticated attackers can permanently delete arbitrary posts or pages due to missing capability and nonce checks in an AJAX action.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 5 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 14 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m254-mfgm-2hwx

## What is CVE-2021-42359?

CVE-2021-42359 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in legalweb WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR), published on 5 Nov 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) <= 3.1.23 had an AJAX action, ‘admin-dismiss-unsubscribe‘, which lacked a capability check and a nonce check and was available to unauthenticated users, and did not check the post type when deleting unsubscription requests. As such, it was possible for an attacker to permanently delete an arbitrary post or page on the site by sending an AJAX request with the “action” parameter set to “admin-dismiss-unsubscribe” and the “id” parameter set to the post to be deleted. Sending such a request would move the post to the trash, and repeating the request would permanently delete the post in question.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-42359?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Legalweb Wp Dsgvo Tools.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-42359?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-42359 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-42359 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-42359 exists.

Public exploit code:

- WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) <= 3.1.23 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Post Deletion (nuclei): http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-42359.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in legalweb WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR)

- [CVE-2021-4358](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4358/): WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) <= 3.1.23 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-42359 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-42359 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in legalweb WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR), published on 5 Nov 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-2021-42359 exists.

Affected product: legalweb WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR). 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-2021-42359/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42359/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-42359
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-42359
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-42359

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42359/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.