CVE-2023-47551: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Vulnerability Discovered in RedNao Donations Made Easy

A new Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability (CVE-2023-47551) has been identified in RedNao Donations Made Easy – Smart Donations plugin, a popular WordPress plugin used by non-profit organizations and individuals to collect donations online. This issue affects all versions of the plugin from its earlier versions through to v4..12. The vulnerability, if exploited successfully, could lead to various malpractices including unauthorized bank transactions or alteration of donation recipient details.

Vulnerability Details

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is a type of security vulnerability that exploits the trust relationships between a web application and its users. In a CSRF attack, an attacker can trick users into performing actions they didn't intend to perform on a web application while logged in as an authenticated user. In the context of RedNao Donations Made Easy – Smart Donations plugin, the CSRF vulnerability allows an attacker to craft malicious requests that would be executed as if they originated from a legitimate user.

The vulnerability (CVE-2023-47551) exists in the plugin's donation form handling. A missing CSRF token leaves the plugin susceptible to CSRF attacks, allowing malicious requests to manipulate donation details. For example, such an exploit could lead to unauthorized transactions being conducted, redirection of collected funds to malicious accounts, or even hijacking of the donation functionality itself.

The following code snippet demonstrates a sample CSRF attack

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>CVE-2023-47551: CSRF POC Exploit</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Exploit Page</h1>
    <form action="http://victim-site.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=sd_plugins.php"; method="POST">
        <input type="hidden" name="some_sensitive_field" value="malicious_data" />
        <input type="submit" value="Click me!" />
    </form>
    <script>
        document.forms[].submit();
    </script>
</body>
</html>

An attacker could craft this HTML page containing a malicious form that, when clicked on or automatically submitted via JavaScript, would send a POST request to the vulnerable plugin. This request would include the attacker's specified data (in this case, "malicious_data") without the user's knowledge or consent. Since the plugin does not validate a CSRF token, it processes the request as if it originated from the authenticated user, leading to unauthorized actions or modifications within the plugin's settings.

Links to Original References

1. Official CVE List Entry: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-47551
2. NVD CVE Entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-47551
3. RedNao Donations Made Easy Homepage: https://rednao.com/2013/01/09/smart-donations/

Mitigation and Remediation

The developers of RedNao Donations Made Easy – Smart Donations plugin have been notified about this vulnerability. Until a security patch is released, users are recommended to:

Final Thoughts

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities can have severe consequences for web applications, especially those handling sensitive actions like financial transactions. It is crucial for developers to follow best practices when implementing security measures in their applications and plugins. Web application users should remain vigilant and pay attention to any unexpected behavior and possible exploitation attempts from malicious actors, taking appropriate steps to mitigate risks and potential damages.

Timeline

Published on: 11/18/2023 22:15:07 UTC
Last modified on: 11/24/2023 19:08:13 UTC