A critical security vulnerability has been discovered in the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress, impacting versions up to and including 6.4.1. Tracked as CVE-2024-44000, this flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, potentially escalating to administrator privileges. This issue was identified by cybersecurity researcher Rafie Muhammad from Patchstack, who highlighted the risk posed by the plugin’s exposed debug log file.
The vulnerability stems from the public exposure of the “/wp-content/debug.log” file, which can contain sensitive information such as user cookies. If the debug feature is enabled, attackers can access this file and hijack active sessions to log in as any user, including those with administrative roles. Although the debug feature is disabled by default, sites that have previously enabled it without removing the log file remain vulnerable.
LiteSpeed addressed the issue in version 6.5.0.1 by relocating the debug log file to a secure folder within the plugin directory and randomizing filenames to mitigate the risk. The update also eliminates the logging of cookie data, reducing the exposure of sensitive information. Users are encouraged to review their installations for the presence of the “/wp-content/debug.log” file and take necessary steps to remove it if the debug feature was previously enabled.
In addition to updating the plugin, it is recommended that users implement an .htaccess rule to deny direct access to log files, as attackers may still attempt to access the new log file through trial and error. This vulnerability underscores the importance of proper log file management and data security in the development and maintenance of WordPress plugins.
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