WordPress Core < 6.0.3 - Authenticated Information Disclosure via REST-API

2022-10-18 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.7.40
Affected Core: WordPress 6.0
Affected Version: 3.6.1 – 6.0.2 · 25 branches
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
CVE: CVE pending

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in the WordPress 6.0 WordPress release line, affecting 3.6.1 – 6.0.2 · 25 branches. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 3.7.40; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2022, reported by Than Taintor.

Vulnerability Overview

WordPress Core is vulnerable to information disclosure via the REST-API in versions up to 6.0.3. The REST API endpoint for terms and tags did not perform enough validation on the user requesting information about terms and tags for a given post. This made it possible for users with access to terms and tags, such as a contributor, to determine those details on all posts not belonging to them, even when in a private status. This does not reveal critical information.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Reaching this weakness in WordPress 6.0 3.6.1 – 6.0.2 · 25 branches takes any authenticated account. Sensitive information exposure means data the application intended to keep internal is returned to a caller who should not be able to see it.

The disclosed data — credentials, tokens, customer records or internal paths — is usually worth more as material for a follow-up attack than as an end in itself. For WordPress 6.0 the fix is 3.7.40: builds 3.6.1 – 6.0.2 · 25 branches are affected, anything from 3.7.40 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to one of the following versions, or a newer patched version: 3.7.40, 3.8.40, 3.9.38, 4.0.37, 4.1.37, 4.2.34, 4.3.30, 4.4.29, 4.5.28, 4.6.25, 4.7.25, 4.8.21, 4.9.22, 5.0.18, 5.1.15, 5.2.17, 5.3.14, 5.4.12, 5.5.11, 5.6.10, 5.7.8, 5.8.6, 5.9.5, 6.0.3

How does WordSec protect against this?

The fix is the thing that ends this: updating to 3.7.40 is the step that ends it.

Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4394f96a-ceb5-463f-b454-a6fa4a59fc45

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WordPress 6.0

CVSS Vector

4.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone

This record contains material that is subject to copyright

Defiant hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute this software vulnerability information. Any copy of the software vulnerability information you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you include a hyperlink to this vulnerability record and reproduce Defiant's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

https://www.wordfence.com/wordfence-intelligence-terms-and-conditions/