Clerk <= 3.8.2 - Authorization Bypass via Insufficient Validation
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.8.3
- Affected Plugin
- Clerk
- Affected Version
<= 3.8.2- CVSS
- 5.6Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
- CVE
CVE-2022-3907
At a glance
CVE-2022-3907 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Clerk WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.8.2. It carries a CVSS score of 5.6 (reachable over the network). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.8.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2022, reported by Francesco Carlucci.
Vulnerability Overview
The Clerk plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authorization Bypass via Insufficient Validation in versions up to, and including, 3.8.2. This is due to the validation function for all API requests using comparison operators to verify API keys against those stored in the site options. This leaves the API request validation vulnerable to time-based attacks. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to potentially bypass API validation or to discover API keys.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Reaching this weakness in Clerk <= 3.8.2 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 Clerk the fix is 3.8.3: builds <= 3.8.2 are affected, anything from 3.8.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.8.3, 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: Clerk 3.8.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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