CVE-2023-1844

Subscribe2 <= 10.40 - Missing Authorization

2023-06-26 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 10.41
Affected Plugin: Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters
Affected Version: <= 10.40
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2023-1844

View all Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-1844 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Subscribe2 WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 10.40. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (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 10.41; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2023, reported by Marco Wotschka.

Vulnerability Overview

The Subscribe2 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access to email functionality due to a missing capability check when sending test emails in versions up to, and including, 10.40. This makes it possible for author-level attackers to send emails with arbitrary content and attachments to site users.

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

Reaching this weakness in Subscribe2 <= 10.40 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 Subscribe2 the fix is 10.41: builds <= 10.40 are affected, anything from 10.41 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 10.41, 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: Subscribe2 10.41 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1844 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c34ce601-5cf9-433f-bc9d-5c705eba6b08 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1844

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters

CVSS Vector

4.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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