CVE-2023-5527

Business Directory Plugin <= 6.4.3 - Authenticated (Author+) CSV Injection

2024-06-17 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 6.4.4
Affected Plugin: Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress
Affected Version: <= 6.4.3
CVSS: 7.4High
Weakness type: CWE-1236 · Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File
CVE: CVE-2023-5527

View all Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-5527 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File vulnerability in the Business Directory Plugin WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.4.3. It carries a CVSS score of 7.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 6.4.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2024, reported by Dmitrii Ignatyev.

Vulnerability Overview

The Business Directory Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to CSV Injection in versions up to, and including, 6.4.3 via the class-csv-exporter.php file. This allows authenticated attackers, with author-level permissions and above, to embed untrusted input into CSV files exported by administrators, which can result in code execution when these files are downloaded and opened on a local system with a vulnerable configuration.

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-1236: Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File

The product saves user-provided information into a Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could be interpreted as a command when the file is opened by a spreadsheet product.

Remediation

Update to version 6.4.4, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Author access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Business Directory Plugin 6.4.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5527 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ed037e94-68b4-4efc-9d1a-fffc4aff1c45 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5527

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress

CVSS Vector

7.4

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityLow

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