Pre-Publish Checklist <= 1.1.1 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary Post '_ppc_meta_key' Update
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.1.2
- Affected Plugin
- Pre-Publish Checklist
- Affected Version
< 1.1.2- CVSS
- 5.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
- CVE
CVE-2023-44151
At a glance
CVE-2023-44151 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Pre-Publish Checklist WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.1.2. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.1.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2023, reported by Rafie Muhammad.
Vulnerability Overview
The Pre-Publish Checklist plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to, and including, 1.1.1 via the ppc_meta_box_ajax_add_handler and ppc_meta_box_ajax_delete_handler functions due to missing validation on a user controlled key. This can allow authenticated attackers with contributor-level access and above to modify and delete the '_ppc_meta_key' post meta value for arbitrary posts.
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-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Pre-Publish Checklist < 1.1.2 carries this weakness at _ppc_meta_key, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.
Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For Pre-Publish Checklist the fix is 1.1.2: builds < 1.1.2 are affected, anything from 1.1.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.1.2, 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: Pre-Publish Checklist 1.1.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
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