CVE-2023-4645

Ad Inserter <= 2.7.30 - Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure via ai_ajax

2023-09-22 00:00
Marco Wotschka

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.7.31
Affected Plugin
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads
Affected Version
<= 2.7.30
CVSS
5.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2023-4645
View all Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-4645 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Ad Inserter WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.7.30. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.7.31; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2023, reported by Marco Wotschka.

Vulnerability Overview

The Ad Inserter for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 2.7.30 via the ai_ajax function. This can allow unauthenticated attackers to extract sensitive data such as post titles and slugs (including those of protected posts along with their passwords), usernames, available roles, the plugin license key provided the remote debugging option is enabled. In the default state it is disabled.

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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Ad Inserter <= 2.7.30 takes no account at all. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Ad Inserter the fix is 2.7.31: builds <= 2.7.30 are affected, anything from 2.7.31 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.7.31, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: Ad Inserter 2.7.31 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4645https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/57b3eef3-e165-45ac-89d7-2a2a6529b310https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-4645

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C