CVE-2022-43492

Comments – wpDiscuz <= 7.4.2 - Insecure Direct Object References

2022-10-28 00:00
Dhakal Ananda

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 7.5
Affected Plugin
Comments – wpDiscuz
Affected Version
<= 7.4.2
CVSS
5.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-639 · Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE
CVE-2022-43492
View all Comments – wpDiscuz vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-43492 is a medium-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in the Comments WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.4.2. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 7.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2022, reported by Dhakal Ananda.

Vulnerability Overview

The Comments – wpDiscuz plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to insecure direct object reference in versions up to, and including, 7.4.2. This is due to insufficient validation on the 'wmu_attachments' user-controlled key. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with subscriber-level capabilities and above to inject attachments that do not belong to them into post comments.

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-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Comments <= 7.4.2 carries this weakness at wmu_attachments, and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Authorization bypass through a user-controlled key, often called insecure direct object reference, means the application looks up a record by an identifier from the request without checking that the caller owns it.

Changing a number in the request is enough to read or modify other users' records, which on commerce and membership sites means customer data. For Comments the fix is 7.5: builds <= 7.4.2 are affected, anything from 7.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 7.5, 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: Comments 7.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-43492https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e7782522-78bc-4ad2-997e-81c8870d55fahttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-43492

Related records

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