CVE-2023-6009

UserPro <= 5.1.4 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation

2023-11-21 00:00
István Márton

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 5.1.5
Affected Version
<= 5.1.4
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-266 · Incorrect Privilege Assignment
CVE
CVE-2023-6009
View all UserPro - Community and User Profile WordPress Plugin vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-6009 is a high-severity Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in the UserPro - Community and User Profile WordPress Plugin WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.1.4. 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 5.1.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2023, reported by István Márton.

Vulnerability Overview

The UserPro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 5.1.4 due to insufficient restriction on the 'userpro_update_user_profile' function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with minimal permissions such as a subscriber, to modify their user role by supplying the 'wp_capabilities' parameter during a profile update.

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-266: Incorrect Privilege Assignment

A product incorrectly assigns a privilege to a particular actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

Remediation

Update to version 5.1.5, 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: UserPro - Community and User Profile WordPress Plugin 5.1.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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