CVE-2023-36520

Editorial Calendar <= 3.7.12 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Insecure Direct Object Reference

2023-06-27 00:00
Elliot

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.8.0
Affected Plugin
Editorial Calendar
Affected Version
<= 3.7.12
CVSS
5.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2023-36520
View all Editorial Calendar vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-36520 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Editorial Calendar WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.7.12. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.8.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2023, reported by Elliot.

Vulnerability Overview

The Editorial Calendar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to insecure direct object reference in versions up to, and including, 3.7.12. This is due to insufficient validation on a user controlled key. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor-level capabilities and above to perform actions on objects they aren't intended to manipulate.

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 Editorial Calendar <= 3.7.12 takes an account at Contributor 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 Editorial Calendar the fix is 3.8.0: builds <= 3.7.12 are affected, anything from 3.8.0 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.8.0, 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: Editorial Calendar 3.8.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-36520https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7f01ad95-7a51-408c-917f-4350dbeabb2bhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-36520

Related records

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