WP User Switch <= 1.0.2 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Authentication Bypass via Cookie
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.0.3
- Affected Plugin
- WP User Switch
- Affected Version
<= 1.0.2- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-288 · Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
- CVE
CVE-2023-2546
At a glance
CVE-2023-2546 is a high-severity Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability in the WP User Switch WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.0.2. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 1.0.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2023, reported by István Márton.
Vulnerability Overview
The WP User Switch plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 1.0.2. This is due to incorrect authentication checking in the 'wpus_allow_user_to_admin_bar_menu' function with the 'wpus_who_switch' cookie value. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to log in as any existing user on the site, such as an administrator, if they have access to the username.
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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-288: Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
WP User Switch <= 1.0.2 carries this weakness at wpus_allow_user_to_admin_bar_menu, and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Authentication bypass through an alternate path means the application has a second route to a protected action that skips the checks the primary route performs.
The protection on the main path becomes irrelevant, because the attacker simply uses the route that never asks. For WP User Switch the fix is 1.0.3: builds <= 1.0.2 are affected, anything from 1.0.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.0.3, 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 User Switch 1.0.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in WP User Switch
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