CVE-2022-23183

Advanced Custom Fields <= 5.12 - Authenticated Information Disclosure

2022-03-30 00:00
Keitaro Yamazaki

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.12.1
Affected Plugin
Advanced Custom Fields Pro
Affected Version
< 5.12.1
CVSS
6.5Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2022-23183
View all Advanced Custom Fields Pro vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-23183 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Advanced Custom Fields Pro WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 5.12.1. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 5.12.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2022, reported by Keitaro Yamazaki.

Vulnerability Overview

The Advanced Custom Fields plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check in versions up to, and including, 5.12. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with editor access, such as Contributors and above, to view information in the database without the appropriate authorization.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Advanced Custom Fields Pro < 5.12.1 takes any authenticated account. 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 Advanced Custom Fields Pro the fix is 5.12.1: builds < 5.12.1 are affected, anything from 5.12.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 5.12.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: Advanced Custom Fields Pro 5.12.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-23183https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/76cd5762-1ad4-4b76-8161-5a4ce4fc8118https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23183

Related records

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