CVE-2023-28532

Real Estate Directory <= 1.0.4 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Plugin Activation

2023-03-17 00:00
Dave Jong

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.0.5
Affected Theme
Real Estate Directory
Affected Version
<= 1.0.4
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE
CVE-2023-28532
View all Real Estate Directory vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-28532 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Real Estate Directory WordPress theme, affecting versions <= 1.0.4. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 1.0.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2023, reported by Dave Jong.

Vulnerability Overview

The Real Estate Directory themes for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the rdm_activate_plugin function in versions up to, and including, 1.0.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with subscriber-level permissions and above to activate arbitrary plugins on a vulnerable site.

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

Reaching this weakness in Real Estate Directory <= 1.0.4 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. 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 Real Estate Directory the fix is 1.0.5: builds <= 1.0.4 are affected, anything from 1.0.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.0.5, 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: Real Estate Directory 1.0.5 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Real Estate Directory

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