BadgeOS <= 3.7.1.6 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary Post Deletion
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- BadgeOS
- Affected Version
<= 3.7.1.6- CVSS
- 6.5Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
- CVE
CVE-2023-2173
At a glance
CVE-2023-2173 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the BadgeOS WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.7.1.6. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high integrity impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed July 2023, reported by Alex Thomas.
Vulnerability Overview
The BadgeOS plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to, and including, 3.7.1.6. This is due to improper validation and authorization checks within the badgeos_delete_step_ajax_handler, badgeos_delete_award_step_ajax_handler, badgeos_delete_deduct_step_ajax_handler, and badgeos_delete_rank_req_step_ajax_handler functions. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to delete arbitrary posts.
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 integrity.
CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Reaching this weakness in BadgeOS <= 3.7.1.6 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.
Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for BadgeOS yet, so installs running <= 3.7.1.6 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
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. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in BadgeOS
- 9.8CVE-2022-0817: BadgeOS <= 3.7.0 SQL Injection
CVE-2022-0817 - 8.8CVE-2022-2958: BadgeOS <= 3.7.1.2 SQL Injection
CVE-2022-2958 - 5.4CVE-2023-2171: BadgeOS <= 3.7.1.6 Stored Cross-Site Scripting
CVE-2023-2171 - 4.3CVE-2023-47647: BadgeOS <= 3.7.1.6 Missing Authorization
CVE-2023-47647 - 4.3CVE-2023-2174: BadgeOS Missing Authorization
CVE-2023-2174 - 4.3CVE-2022-41987: BadgeOS <= 3.7.1.6 Cross-Site Request Forgery
CVE-2022-41987
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