WP User Control <= 1.5.3 - Insecure Password Reset Mechanism
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- WP User Control
- Affected Version
<= 1.5.3- CVSS
- 5.3Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-620 · Unverified Password Change
- CVE
CVE-2023-4915
At a glance
CVE-2023-4915 is a medium-severity Unverified Password Change vulnerability in the WP User Control WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.5.3. It carries a CVSS score of 5.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed September 2023, reported by István Márton.
Vulnerability Overview
The WP User Control plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized password resets in versions up to, and including 1.5.3. This is due to the plugin using native password reset functionality, with insufficient validation on the password reset function (in the WP User Control Widget). The function changes the user's password after providing the email. The new password is only sent to the user's email, so the attacker does not have access to the new password.
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 privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-620: Unverified Password Change
Reaching this weakness in WP User Control <= 1.5.3 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Unverified password change means the password-update path does not require proof that the requester is the account owner.
An attacker who can reach the endpoint takes over the account outright, and the legitimate owner is locked out of it. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for WP User Control yet, so installs running <= 1.5.3 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
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. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C