CVE-2023-5949

Simple Social Media Share Buttons <= 3.8.2 - Unauthenticated Password Protected Post Disclosure

2023-11-23 00:00
Krzysztof Zając

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.8.3
Affected Version
< 3.8.3
CVSS
5.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2023-5949
View all SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-5949 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 3.8.3. 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 3.8.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2023, reported by Krzysztof Zając.

Vulnerability Overview

The Simple Social Media Share Buttons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 3.8.2 via meta tags. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to retrieve data from password protected posts that may have sensitive information.

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 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer < 3.8.3 takes no account at all. 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 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer the fix is 3.8.3: builds < 3.8.3 are affected, anything from 3.8.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.8.3, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 3.8.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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