CVE-2023-0993

Shield Security <= 17.0.17 - Missing Authorization

2023-04-25 00:00
Ram

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 17.0.18
Affected Plugin
Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning
Affected Version
< 17.0.18
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2023-0993
View all Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-0993 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Shield Security WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 17.0.18. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 17.0.18; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2023, reported by Ram.

Vulnerability Overview

The Shield Security plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization on the 'theme-plugin-file' AJAX action in versions up to, and including, 17.0.17. This allows authenticated attackers to add arbitrary audit log entries indicating that a theme or plugin has been edited, and is also a vector for Cross-Site Scripting via CVE-2023-0992.

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-862: Missing Authorization

Shield Security < 17.0.18 carries this weakness at theme-plugin-file, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Shield Security the fix is 17.0.18: builds < 17.0.18 are affected, anything from 17.0.18 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 17.0.18, 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: Shield Security 17.0.18 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-0993https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/674461ad-9b61-48c4-af2a-5dfcaeb38215https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0993

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C