CVE-2014-8803

Smart Forms – when you need more than just a contact form <= 2.1.0 - Missing Authorization

2014-11-06 00:00
Kacper Szurek

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.1.1
Affected Plugin
Smart Forms – when you need more than just a contact form
Affected Version
<= 2.1.0
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2014-8803
View all Smart Forms – when you need more than just a contact form vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2014-8803 is a high-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Smart Forms WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.1.0. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.1.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2014, reported by Kacper Szurek.

Vulnerability Overview

The Smart Forms – when you need more than just a contact form plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on the rednao_smart_forms_save_form_values function in versions up to, and including, 2.1.0. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to edit forms, including entering stored cross-site scripting, as output is not properly escaped.

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-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Smart Forms <= 2.1.0 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 Smart Forms the fix is 2.1.1: builds <= 2.1.0 are affected, anything from 2.1.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.1.1, 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: Smart Forms 2.1.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-8803https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/5331c7cc-3854-4975-9f28-e9b0d6407227https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8803

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C