CVE-2023-1874

WP Data Access <= 5.3.7 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation

2023-04-06 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 5.3.8
Affected Plugin: WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Charts, Maps & Dashboards
Affected Version: <= 5.3.7
CVSS: 7.5High
Weakness type: CWE-266 · Incorrect Privilege Assignment
CVE: CVE-2023-1874

View all WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Charts, Maps & Dashboards vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-1874 is a high-severity Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in the WP Data Access WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 5.3.7. It carries a CVSS score of 7.5 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 5.3.8; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2023, reported by Chloe Chamberland.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Data Access plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 5.3.7. This is due to a lack of authorization checks on the multiple_roles_update function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with minimal permissions such as a subscriber, to modify their user role by supplying the 'wpda_role[]' parameter during a profile update. This requires the 'Enable role management' setting to be enabled for the site.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, 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 5.3.8, 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 Data Access 5.3.8 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1874 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8f562e33-2aef-46f0-8a65-691155ede9e7 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1874

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Charts, Maps & Dashboards

CVSS Vector

7.5

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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