Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 4.0.7
- Affected Plugin
- MainWP Comments Extension
- Affected Version
<= 4.0.6- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
- CVE
CVE-2023-23663
At a glance
CVE-2023-23663 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the MainWP Comments Extension WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.0.6. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (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 4.0.7; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2023, reported by Dave Jong.
Vulnerability Overview
The MainWP Comments Extension plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on an unknown function in versions up to, and including, 4.0.6. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to delete, approve or restore comments.
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 MainWP Comments Extension <= 4.0.6 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 MainWP Comments Extension the fix is 4.0.7: builds <= 4.0.6 are affected, anything from 4.0.7 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 4.0.7, 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: MainWP Comments Extension 4.0.7 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in MainWP Comments Extension
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C