CVE-2022-40216

Better Messages <= 1.9.10.68 - Authorization Bypass to Blocking Control Bypass

2022-11-09 00:00
Dhakal Ananda

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.9.10.69
Affected Plugin
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots
Affected Version
<= 1.9.10.68
CVSS
5.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2022-40216
View all Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-40216 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Better Messages WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.9.10.68. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 1.9.10.69; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2022, reported by Dhakal Ananda.

Vulnerability Overview

The Better Messages plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authorization Bypass resulting in a block bypass on messaging controls in versions up to, and including, 1.9.10.68. This is due to insufficient or broken controls in the plugin. This makes it possible for subscriber-level attackers to bypass messaging blocks.

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-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Reaching this weakness in Better Messages <= 1.9.10.68 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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. For Better Messages the fix is 1.9.10.69: builds <= 1.9.10.68 are affected, anything from 1.9.10.69 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.9.10.69, 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: Better Messages 1.9.10.69 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-40216https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4e7f310e-1e10-44dd-9928-23e63af21fefhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40216

Related records

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