CVE-2023-1669

SEOPress <= 6.5.0.2 - Authenticated (Administrator+) PHP Object Injection

2023-04-05 00:00
Nguyen Huu Do

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 6.5.0.3
Affected Version
<= 6.5.0.2
CVSS
6.6Medium
Weakness type
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CVE
CVE-2023-1669
View all SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-1669 is a medium-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the SEOPress WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.5.0.2. It carries a CVSS score of 6.6 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 6.5.0.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2023, reported by Nguyen Huu Do.

Vulnerability Overview

The SEOPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in versions up to, and including, 6.5.0.2 via deserialization of untrusted input of the $redirect_value['sources'] value triggered to an import with the seopress_import_rk_redirections function. This allows authenticated attackers, with administrator-level privileges, to inject a PHP Object. No POP chain is present in the vulnerable plugin. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it could allow the attacker to delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code.

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-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data

SEOPress <= 6.5.0.2 carries this weakness at sources, and reaching it takes an account at Administrator level or above. Deserialization of untrusted data means the application reconstructs objects from input a caller controls, letting the attacker choose which classes get instantiated and what their properties hold.

A workable chain turns deserialization into file writes, deletions or code execution, depending on what the loaded classes do in their magic methods. For SEOPress the fix is 6.5.0.3: builds <= 6.5.0.2 are affected, anything from 6.5.0.3 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 6.5.0.3, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Administrator 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. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: SEOPress 6.5.0.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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