CVE-2023-50876

Molongui <= 4.7.3 - Missing Authorization

2023-12-26 00:00
Abu Hurayra (HurayraIIT)

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 4.7.4
Affected Plugin
Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress
Affected Version
<= 4.7.3
CVSS
5.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2023-50876
View all Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-50876 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Molongui Authorship WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.7.3. 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 4.7.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2023, reported by Abu Hurayra (HurayraIIT).

Vulnerability Overview

The Molongui plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification and access of data due to missing capability checks on the authorship_export_options() and authorship_save_options() functions hooked via AJAX in versions up to, and including, 4.7.3. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to export and modify plugin options.

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

Molongui Authorship <= 4.7.3 carries this weakness at authorship_export_options(), 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 Molongui Authorship the fix is 4.7.4: builds <= 4.7.3 are affected, anything from 4.7.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.7.4, 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: Molongui Authorship 4.7.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-50876https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/6f01ecab-2dfe-45d2-9d9a-ba1e30c7d75fhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-50876

Related records

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