Vulnerability in WordPress’ RealHomes template and Easy Real Estate plugin could expose over 32,000 websites to cybersecurity issues

A serious security vulnerability has been discovered in the popular RealHomes WordPress template and its Easy Real Estate plugin, which could expose more than 32,000 websites to cyberattacks.

The vulnerabilities are classified as privilege escalation issues that do not require authentication and have been given a high severity score of 9.8 on the CVSS scale. They are tracked under the identifiers CVE-2024-32444 and CVE-2024-32555. Unfortunately, there are no official patches or updates available to address these issues at this time.

The Popularity of the RealHomes Theme

The RealHomes theme, which falls under the premium category, is especially popular for creating real estate websites. As of now, it has been sold over 32,000 times. The theme is well-known for its extensive functionality and customizable options.

However, a vulnerability has been identified in the inspiry_ajax_register function of this theme, which allows attackers to escalate privileges without authentication. This issue stems from insufficient validation of user input.

Key Details of the Vulnerability:

  • The user registration process lacks authorization and nonce verification.
  • Attackers can modify the $user_role parameter in HTTP requests to assign themselves administrative privileges.

As a result, attackers could gain complete control over the website, modify content, inject malicious scripts, or access sensitive user data.

This vulnerability was discovered in version 4.3.3 of the RealHomes theme and is tracked under the identifier CVE-2024-32444.

Vulnerability in the Easy Real Estate Plugin

The Easy Real Estate plugin, which comes bundled with the RealHomes theme, also suffers from a similar privilege escalation vulnerability.

This vulnerability, tracked under CVE-2024-32555, is found in the plugin’s social media authentication functionality. The issue arises due to insufficient validation of email addresses during login requests.

Core Issue of the Vulnerability:

  • The ere_social_register function does not verify if the provided email address belongs to its legitimate owner.
  • Attackers could gain unauthorized access by simply knowing the administrator’s email address.

This allows attackers to fully control the website, inject malicious code, and manipulate data.

Security Recommendations

To protect your website from potential attacks, the following steps are recommended:

  1. Disable Vulnerable Components: Temporarily deactivate the RealHomes theme and the Easy Real Estate plugin until updates addressing the vulnerabilities are released.
  2. Leverage Security Tools: Use security services like Patchstack to protect your system through virtual patches.
  3. Monitor Updates: Keep an eye on updates from the theme and plugin developers, or consider switching to alternative plugins and themes with enhanced security.

These vulnerabilities highlight the importance of robust validation mechanisms for user input and adherence to secure coding practices. Developers should implement stringent input validation systems. For instance, when using functions like wp_set_auth_cookie(), it is critical to ensure that user-provided data is both secure and valid.

Website administrators must regularly update their plugins and themes and activate security systems to detect suspicious files or functionalities promptly.

Cybersecurity remains one of the most pressing challenges of our time, and this incident underscores the importance of safeguarding websites. Take action today and ensure the security of your resources!

Skip to content