Extended Post Status <= 1.0.19 - Missing Authorization via wp_insert_post_data
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.0.20
- Affected Plugin
- Extended Post Status
- Affected Version
<= 1.0.19- CVSS
- 5.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2023-32094
At a glance
CVE-2023-32094 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Extended Post Status WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.0.19. 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 1.0.20; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2023, reported by TaeEun Lee.
Vulnerability Overview
The Extended Post Status plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the wp_insert_post_data function in versions up to, and including, 1.0.19. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to set their own posts to the 'published' status via the extended post status metabox.
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
Extended Post Status <= 1.0.19 carries this weakness at published, and reaching it 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 Extended Post Status the fix is 1.0.20: builds <= 1.0.19 are affected, anything from 1.0.20 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.0.20, 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: Extended Post Status 1.0.20 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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