CVE-2021-4348: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

The Ultimate GDPR & CCPA plugin for WordPress versions below 2.5 contained a critical security vulnerability (CVE-2021-4348) related to unauthenticated settings import and export functionality. The vulnerability was discovered by Jerome Bruandet from NinTechNet and was publicly disclosed on February 5, 2021. The plugin incorrectly implemented authentication checks using the is_admin() method, which does not properly verify administrator privileges (WPScan).

The vulnerability stems from improper access controls in the plugin's implementation. The security flaw exists because the plugin relied on the is_admin() method for authorization checks, which only verifies if the request is made from the admin area rather than confirming if the user has administrative privileges. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 9.4 (Critical), indicating its severe nature. The issue is classified under CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and falls into the OWASP Top 10 category A5: Broken Access Control (WPScan).

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to import arbitrary plugin settings and potentially redirect all website traffic to external malicious websites. Even after the implementation of proper capability checks in version 2.5, the attack vector remained partially exploitable through CSRF due to the absence of nonce checks (WPScan).

The vulnerability was patched in version 2.5 of the Ultimate GDPR & CCPA plugin. Website administrators are strongly advised to update to this version or later to protect against potential attacks. However, it's worth noting that even after the update, there remained potential CSRF-related concerns due to missing nonce implementations (WPScan).