CVE-2023-0404

Events Made Easy <= 2.3.16 - Missing Authorization

2022-12-23 00:00
Marco Wotschka

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.3.17
Affected Plugin
Events Made Easy
Affected Version
<= 2.3.16
CVSS
5.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2023-0404
View all Events Made Easy vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-0404 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Events Made Easy WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.3.16. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 2.3.17; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2022, reported by Marco Wotschka.

Vulnerability Overview

The Events Made Easy plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on several functions related to AJAX actions in versions up to, and including, 2.3.16. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to invoke those functions intended for administrator use. While the plugin is still pending review from the WordPress repository, site owners can download a copy of the patched version directly from the developer's Github at https://github.com/liedekef/events-made-easy

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-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Events Made Easy <= 2.3.16 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Events Made Easy the fix is 2.3.17: builds <= 2.3.16 are affected, anything from 2.3.17 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.3.17, 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: Events Made Easy 2.3.17 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-0404https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5a9e62de-3e70-424f-b8e5-2a5f07ca182dhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0404

Related records

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