A significant vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2023-47824, has been detected in the wpWax Legal Pages – Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, and Cookie Notice Generator plugin for WordPress blogs and websites. This cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin up to and including the 1.3.8 version, and it allows malicious actors to manipulate and forge requests to the web application without the victim's consent or knowledge. If you're using this plugin, it's crucial to keep reading to understand the risks and take the necessary measures to protect your site.

Exploit Details

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is a form of web application vulnerability that enables attackers to perform unauthorized operations on behalf of a targeted user. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can lead to unauthorized changes, private information disclosure, or even complete account takeover.

In the case of CVE-2023-47824, the affected plugin's settings can be manipulated by an attacker through a CSRF attack, allowing them to change various settings or enable/disable specific features, such as GDPR compliance features, site policies, and cookie notices. This unauthorized access could lead to potential noncompliance with privacy laws and regulations, as well as other repercussions for the site owner.

A sample code snippet highlighting this vulnerability might look like the following

<form action="http://target_site/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpwax-legal-pages&tab=gdpr"; method="post">
  <input type="hidden" name="_wpnonce" value="some_fake_nonce">
  <input type="hidden" name="_wp_http_referer" value="%2Fwp-admin%2Fadmin.php%3Fpage%3Dwpwax-legal-pages%26tab%3Dgdpr">
  <input type="hidden" name="wpwax_legal_pages_gdpr_data,omitempty" value="1">
  <input type="submit" value="Click me">
</form>

In this example, the attacker creates a simple HTML form that will send a POST request to the vulnerable plugin's settings page, using a fake nonce value (to bypass WordPress' built-in CSRF protection mechanism) and maliciously changing the GDPR related setting.

Original References

1. The official CVE database: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-47824
2. NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD): https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-47824
3. OWASP's guide on Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) exploitation: https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/csrf

Recommendations

To protect your website from this vulnerability, it is highly recommended to perform the following actions:
1. Update the wpWax Legal Pages plugin to the latest version (if any), as the plugin developers usually provide patches for such security issues. Keep in mind that at the time of writing, the plugin was still vulnerable, and a patched version might not be available yet.
2. Disable the affected plugin temporarily until a fixed version is released. This action might affect the functionality of your website, but it would prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability.
3. Monitor the plugin's official WordPress repository page for any updates or announcements related to CVE-2023-47824: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpwax-legal-pages/

Conclusion

Cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-47824 are serious security concerns that can compromise a website's integrity and lead to various negative consequences. Regularly updating your WordPress plugins and staying informed about the latest vulnerabilities are essential steps to secure your website against potential attacks. Stay safe and proactive in keeping your website's security in check.

Timeline

Published on: 11/22/2023 20:15:09 UTC
Last modified on: 11/29/2023 02:30:13 UTC