BetterLinks <= 1.6.0 - Improper Authorization to Data Import and Export
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.6.1
- Affected Version
<= 1.6.0- CVSS
- 6.5Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-285 · Improper Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2023-45104
At a glance
CVE-2023-45104 is a medium-severity Improper Authorization vulnerability in the BetterLinks WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.6.0. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.6.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2023, reported by Nguyen Anh Tien.
Vulnerability Overview
The BetterLinks plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access and modification due to insufficient capability checks on the import_data and export_data functions in versions up to, and including, 1.6.0. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to import and export plugin data.
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-285: Improper Authorization
Reaching this weakness in BetterLinks <= 1.6.0 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper authorization means a permission check exists but does not cover the case being exercised, so a caller who is allowed to do one thing is allowed to do a neighbouring thing as well.
A lower-privileged account performs an action reserved for a higher one, which on a multi-author or membership site means an ordinary user reaching administrative behaviour. For BetterLinks the fix is 1.6.1: builds <= 1.6.0 are affected, anything from 1.6.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.6.1, 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: BetterLinks 1.6.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C