CVE-2023-23490

Survey Maker < 3.1.2 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) SQL Injection

2023-01-12 00:00
Joshua Martinelle

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.1.2
Affected Plugin
Survey Maker by AYS
Affected Version
<= 3.1.1
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVE
CVE-2023-23490
View all Survey Maker by AYS vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-23490 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Survey Maker by AYS WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.1.1. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.1.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2023, reported by Joshua Martinelle.

Vulnerability Overview

The Survey Maker plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL injection in versions before 3.1.2 via the 'ays_surveys_export_json' AJAX action. This allows authenticated attackers, including those with subscriber-level privileges, to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

Survey Maker by AYS <= 3.1.1 carries this weakness at ays_surveys_export_json, and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. SQL injection happens when request data is concatenated into a query instead of being bound as a parameter, letting an attacker change the structure of the statement rather than just its values.

A working injection can read any table the database user can see, which on a WordPress install means user records, password hashes and session or API secrets stored in options. For Survey Maker by AYS the fix is 3.1.2: builds <= 3.1.1 are affected, anything from 3.1.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.1.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Subscriber access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Survey Maker by AYS 3.1.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-23490https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9d72a965-5d81-4619-ad8b-46960a89bf1bhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-23490

Related records

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