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Essential Addons for Elementor, a popular WordPress plugin, has been found to have a security flaw that could be exploited to grant users elevated privileges on vulnerable websites.

The problem has been fixed by the plugin maintainers in version 5.7 and is known as CVE-2023-32243. 2 that was delivered on May 11, 2023. With over a million active installations, Essential Addons for Elementor is widely used.

According to Patchstack researcher Rafie Muhammad, "This plugin has an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability that allows any unauthenticated user to escalate their privilege to that of any user on the WordPress site.".

As long as the malicious party knows the user's username, successful exploitation of the flaw could allow a threat actor to reset any arbitrary user's password. It is thought that the flaw has existed since version 5.4. 0.

This could have detrimental effects because the flaw could be used as a weapon to reset the password for an administrator account and seize complete control of the website.

Muhammad noted that "this vulnerability occurs because the password reset function does not validate a password reset key and instead changes the user's password directly.".

The information was made public more than a year after Patchstack found another serious flaw in the same plugin that could have been exploited to run arbitrary code on infected websites.

The findings come in the wake of the discovery of a fresh wave of attacks targeting WordPress websites since late March 2023 with the intention of introducing the infamous SocGholish (also known as FakeUpdates) malware.

As an initial access provider to facilitate the distribution of additional malware to compromised hosts, SocGholish is a persistent JavaScript malware framework. Drive-by downloads disseminated the malware under the guise of web browser updates.

In order to hide the malware, lessen its impact, and evade detection, Sucuri's most recent campaign was discovered to use compression techniques with a software library called zlib.

According to Sucuri researcher Denis Sinegubko, "bad actors are continuously evolving their tactics, techniques, and procedures to evade detection and prolong the life of their malware campaigns.".

"SocGholish malware is a prime example of this, as attackers have modified their strategy in the past to inject malicious scripts into WordPress websites that have been compromised. ".

Not just SocGholish, either. In a technical report published this week, Malwarebytes described a malvertising campaign that targets users of adult websites with popunder ads that pretend to be a fake Windows update in order to remove the "in2al5d p3in4er" (also known as Invalid Printer) loader.

The largest criminal organization engaged in drug trafficking in the Balkans has been brought down as a result of an international investigation spanning three nations.
Targeting the cartel's leadership and distribution network, coordinated raids were carried out on May 11 in Serbia and the Netherlands. In 2021, Belgium had already detained seven additional members of this criminal group. In Serbia and Peru, two people had already been detained for other crimes. On May 8, 2023, a second suspect was taken into custody in the Netherlands.

23 people in total, including the three criminal organization's leaders who Europol has designated as High-Value Targets, have been detained.

A brief summary of the action day's results.
In Serbia, 13 people were arrested, including 3 High-Value Targets.
35 home searches.
There are several types of seizures.
For an estimated total of between €2 million and €3 million in cash, 15 high-end vehicles, fine jewelry, and timepieces were offered.
weapons and explosives, including two sniper rifles, three automatic rifles, guns, silencers, 24 detonator capsules, five remote detonator triggering devices, 13 packages of plastic explosives, and several hundred rounds of ammunition.
The development of intelligence at Sky ECC.
This international sting is the result of information gathered by Europol's Operational Taskforce while it was investigating the use of the encrypted communication platform Sky ECC, which was shut down in March 2021.

Serbia was able to pinpoint the main targets on its soil and map out its criminal activities around the globe with the help of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Europol's Drugs Unit.

The multi-ton cocaine shipments that came directly from Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador to Europe or that traveled through West Africa are thought to have been the work of this criminal organization.

This gang had a reputation for being violent and taking part in expensive robberies in the criminal underworld. An ex-leader of the notorious Pink Panther criminal organization was among the targets detained in Serbia.

Seven tonnes or more of cocaine were seized in European ports in 2020, and thanks to the analysis done on Sky ECC data, this cartel was responsible for.

Rotterdam, Netherlands authorities seize 700 kg of cocaine.
Belgium's Hasselt reported a 1-2-ton cocaine haul.
Dutch Antilles' Aruba reported the seizure of five tonnes of cocaine.
The largest cocaine traffickers in the Western Balkans were identified as part of the ongoing analysis work done on Sky ECC data, and they were the criminal kingpins who were detained in Belgrade as part of this operation.

With the assistance of Europol, the Antwerp Local Police in Belgium and the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) have targeted a criminal network involved in cannabis and cocaine trafficking as well as money laundering. The alleged members of this Antwerp-based family-structured criminal group were already known for a variety of criminal operations, including organized burglaries, guns trafficking, money counterfeiting, and various forms of narcotics trafficking.

Police in Deurne, Antwerp, discovered that a restaurant was being used as a front for drug sales in April 2022, and that's when the investigation got under way. The restaurant was frequently used as a meeting place by numerous alleged members of criminal networks. The lead suspect was managing a family-structured criminal group, composed of several relatives and other contacts playing various roles at all levels of the organisation. Most of the suspects are dual citizens of Belgium and either Albania or Kosovo.

This network was discovered to have close contacts with a second criminal network led by a Spanish national living in Sint-Gillis-Waas, Belgium. This criminal group was connected to the importation of hashish from Spain and extraction of cocaine shipments from Antwerp harbour. Many dishonest workers who were employed in the port area were accessible to the network. The investigation also showed that relatives of this individual, based in Spain, were active in money laundering in the regions of Almería and Granada.

To avoid detection, the suspects used encrypted communication, fake identity documents and vehicles registered under false identities. They are also suspected of laundering their criminal profits through legal companies and real estate businesses based across Albania, Kosovo*, Belgium and Spain.

The result of the protest on May 10 was.
(35 in Belgium and 7 in Spain) 42 house searches.
30 arrests in Belgium.
A restaurant was closed.
Seizures include drugs (cocaine, hashish and cannabis); weapons, ammunition, silencers and bulletproof vests; forged documents and mobile phones; assets including 14 vehicles, a camper, luxury watches, EUR 50 000 in a bank account and about EUR 60 000 in cash.

Europol coordinated the operational activities, facilitated the exchange of information and provided analytical support. Europol additionally provided an in-depth analysis of the encrypted communication datasets, as well as financial support for the organisation of the operational activities. On the action day, Europol deployed two experts to Antwerp, Belgium, to cross-check operational information in real-time and support the investigators on the ground.