Instant Images <= 5.1.0.1 - Authenticated (Author+) Server-Side Request Forgery via instant_images_download
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 5.1.0.2
- Affected Plugin
- Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy
- Affected Version
<= 5.1.0.1- CVSS
- 5.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-918 · Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
- CVE
CVE-2023-27451
At a glance
CVE-2023-27451 is a medium-severity Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the Instant Images WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.1.0.1. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.1.0.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2023, reported by Universe.
Vulnerability Overview
The Instant Images plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Server-Side Request Forgery in versions up to, and including, 5.1.0.1via the instant_images_download function. This can allow authenticated attackers, with author-level permissions and above, to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services.
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-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Reaching this weakness in Instant Images <= 5.1.0.1 takes an account at Author level or above. Server-side request forgery means the application fetches a URL supplied by the caller, turning the server into a proxy for requests the attacker could not make directly.
The request originates from inside the hosting network, which is how these flaws reach cloud metadata endpoints, internal admin panels and services that trust local traffic. For Instant Images the fix is 5.1.0.2: builds <= 5.1.0.1 are affected, anything from 5.1.0.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 5.1.0.2, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Author access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Instant Images 5.1.0.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C