CVE-2023-33923

Multiple Themes (Various Versions) - Missing Authorization to Arbitrary Plugin Activation

2023-05-30 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 1.4.6
Affected Theme: Viral News
Affected Version: <= 1.4.5
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2023-33923

At a glance

CVE-2023-33923 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Viral News WordPress theme, affecting versions <= 1.4.5. 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 1.4.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2023, reported by Dave Jong.

Vulnerability Overview

Several themes for WordPress are vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the activate_plugin() function called via an AJAX action in various versions. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to activate arbitrary plugins.

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

Viral News <= 1.4.5 carries this weakness at activate_plugin(), 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 Viral News the fix is 1.4.6: builds <= 1.4.5 are affected, anything from 1.4.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.4.6, 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: Viral News 1.4.6 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-33923 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/154a838c-f8bb-4568-b066-a78264c75eea https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-33923

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Viral News

4.3CVE-2023-33923: Multiple Themes CSRF to Arbitrary Plugin ActivationCVE-2023-33923

CVSS Vector

4.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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