WP Dashboard Notes <= 1.0.10 - Insecure Direct Object References to Authenticated Private Note Deletion
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.0.11
- Affected Plugin
- WP Dashboard Notes
- Affected Version
<= 1.0.10- CVSS
- 4.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
- CVE
CVE-2023-7198
At a glance
CVE-2023-7198 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the WP Dashboard Notes WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.0.10. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 1.0.11; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2023, reported by Pedro Cuco (Illex).
Vulnerability Overview
The WP Dashboard Notes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.10 via the 'post_id' parameter due to missing validation on a user controlled key. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers to delete private notes associated with other user accounts.
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-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
WP Dashboard Notes <= 1.0.10 carries this weakness at post_id, and reaching it takes any authenticated account. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.
Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For WP Dashboard Notes the fix is 1.0.11: builds <= 1.0.10 are affected, anything from 1.0.11 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.0.11, 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: WP Dashboard Notes 1.0.11 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in WP Dashboard Notes
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