CVE-2023-6226

WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate <= 5.13.3 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Information Disclosure

2023-11-27 00:00
Francesco Carlucci

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 7.0.0
Affected Plugin
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements
Affected Version
<= 5.13.3
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2023-6226
View all Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-6226 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Shortcodes Ultimate WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.13.3. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 7.0.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2023, reported by Francesco Carlucci.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 5.13.3 via the su_meta shortcode due to missing validation on the user controlled keys 'key' and 'post_id'. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to retrieve arbitrary post meta values which may contain sensitive information when combined with another 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.

CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Shortcodes Ultimate <= 5.13.3 carries this weakness at 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 Shortcodes Ultimate the fix is 7.0.0: builds <= 5.13.3 are affected, anything from 7.0.0 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.0.0, 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: Shortcodes Ultimate 7.0.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6226https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/4d936a48-b300-4a41-8d28-ba34cb3c5cb7https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6226

Related records

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