Buddypress - Information Disclosure (CVE-2021-21389)
237Exploiting IPs reported
BuddyPress is an open source WordPress plugin to build a community site. In releases of BuddyPress from 5.0.0 before 7.2.1 it's possible for a non-privileged, regular user to obtain administrator rights by exploiting an issue in the REST API members endpoint. The vulnerability has been fixed in BuddyPress 7.2.1. Existing installations of the plugin should be updated to this version to mitigate the issue.
CrowdSec analysis
CVE-2021-21389 is a vulnerability in the BuddyPress plugin for WordPress, where attackers can exploit the REST API members endpoint to elevate privileges from a regular user to administrator.
CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 20th of May 2025.
CrowdSec network observations suggest that most exploitation of CVE-2021-21389 involves focused reconnaissance to identify viable targets. Attackers typically tailor their campaigns based on system exposure and configuration. It is unlikely that a given attack is accidental. CrowdSec network telemetry also shows that exploitation of CVE-2021-21389 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.
Observed attacks typically involve requests sent to URLs containing /wp-json/buddypress/v1/signup.
Exploitation
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Protection
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Blocklist
With our advanced worldwide network detection, CrowdSec can provide a list of IPs known for exploiting the vulnerability.
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