# CVE-2021-24527: Profile Builder Plugin - Authentication Bypass

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2021-24527 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2021-24527

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 9.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** Cozmoslabs Profile Builder
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)
- **Tags:** wordpress, cms

## Description

The Profile Builder WordPress plugin before 3.4.9 has a bug allowing any user to reset the password of the admin of the blog, and gain unauthorised access, due to a bypass in the way the reset key is checked. Furthermore, the admin will not be notified of such change by email for example.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2021-24527](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24527) is a critical vulnerability in the User Registration & User Profile – Profile Builder WordPress plugin prior to version 3.4.9, allowing any user to reset the admin password and gain unauthorized access due to a flaw in reset key validation. Attackers can exploit this bug to take over WordPress sites without alerting the administrator, as no notification is sent when the password is changed.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 24th of September 2025.

Insights from the CrowdSec network reveal that the attackers trying to exploit CVE-2021-24527 are composed of a fairly even mix of opportunistic and targeted actors. Some attackers employ preliminary reconnaissance, while others use indiscriminate scanning.
CrowdSec network telemetry also shows that exploitation of CVE-2021-24527 has significantly declined over the past week. Attack volumes are well below the long-term average, suggesting attackers are rapidly losing interest. The vulnerability appears to be falling out of active use across most threat landscapes.

Attackers exploit the password reset functionality by sending crafted requests to endpoints with a `?key=<a>` parameter, allowing them to reset passwords for arbitrary users, including administrators, without authentication. This activity typically targets URLs associated with the Profile Builder plugin, such as `/wp-content/plugins/profile-builder/` or any path containing `?key=<a>`.

## Timeline

- 2021-08-16: CVE Published. CVE-2021-24527 is published to NVD.
- 2025-09-24: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2021-24527 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-09-25: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2021-24527 for the first time.

## References

- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/c142e738-bc4b-4058-a03e-1be6fca47207
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-24527.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2021-24527) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2021-24527. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.