CVE-2023-1889

Directorist <= 7.5.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary Post Deletion in listing_task

2023-06-01 00:00
Alex Thomas

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 7.5.5
Affected Plugin
Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads
Affected Version
<= 7.5.4
CVSS
6.5Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2023-1889
View all Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-1889 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Directorist WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.5.4. 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. The issue is fixed in version 7.5.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2023, reported by Alex Thomas.

Vulnerability Overview

The Directorist plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to an Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to, and including, 7.5.4. This is due to improper validation and authorization checks within the listing_task function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to delete arbitrary posts. Please note CVE-2023-35052 appears to be a duplicate of this issue.

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 Directorist <= 7.5.4 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. For Directorist the fix is 7.5.5: builds <= 7.5.4 are affected, anything from 7.5.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.5.5, 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: Directorist 7.5.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1889https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/b47edd57-cac7-463f-88cc-8922f1b34612https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1889

Related records

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