Headline Analyzer <= 1.3.1 - Missing Authorization via REST APIs
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.3.2
- Affected Plugin
- Headline Analyzer
- Affected Version
<= 1.3.1- CVSS
- 6.5Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2023-46195
At a glance
CVE-2023-46195 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Headline Analyzer WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.3.1. It carries a CVSS score of 6.5 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.3.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2023, reported by Kévin Mosbahi (Mika).
Vulnerability Overview
The Headline Analyzer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to missing capability checks on several functions called via REST API endpoints in versions up to, and including, 1.3.1. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve and update headline post data as well as disconnect and connect an account for the plugin.
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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Reaching this weakness in Headline Analyzer <= 1.3.1 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 Headline Analyzer the fix is 1.3.2: builds <= 1.3.1 are affected, anything from 1.3.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.3.2, 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: Headline Analyzer 1.3.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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