MainWP Code Snippets Extension <= 4.0.2 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) PHP Code Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 4.0.3
- Affected Plugin
- MainWP Code Snippets Extension
- Affected Version
<= 4.0.2- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2023-23645
At a glance
CVE-2023-23645 is a high-severity Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in the MainWP Code Snippets Extension WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.0.2. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 4.0.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2023, reported by Dave Jong.
Vulnerability Overview
The MainWP Code Snippets Extension for WordPress is vulnerable to code injection in versions up to, and including, 4.0.2. This makes it possible for attackers with subscriber-level privileges or higher to execute arbitrary code via 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 interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Reaching this weakness in MainWP Code Snippets Extension <= 4.0.2 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Code injection means input from a request reaches a language construct that evaluates code, so the attacker's text is executed rather than treated as data.
The injected code runs with the web server's privileges, giving the attacker the same access to the database and filesystem as WordPress itself. For MainWP Code Snippets Extension the fix is 4.0.3: builds <= 4.0.2 are affected, anything from 4.0.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 4.0.3, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Subscriber 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. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: MainWP Code Snippets Extension 4.0.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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