CVE-2023-48739: Missing Authorization vulnerability in Porto Theme leads to Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels

If you're using the popular Porto Theme for your website, you might need to take a closer look at the access control security levels in your site. A new vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2023-48739, has been discovered, which could potentially allow attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. This could lead to unauthorized access and manipulation of sensitive data. In this long read, we'll explain what this vulnerability is, provide code snippets, link to original references, and discuss the exploit details. So let's get started!

Vulnerability Overview

CVE-2023-48739 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability, which affects the Porto Theme - Functionality from versions before 2.12.1. This issue arises when the access control security levels within the theme are not correctly configured, allowing unauthorized users to access certain parts of the site, which they should not have access to. As a result, potential attackers can manipulate sensitive data and carry out other malicious activities.

Affected Porto Theme - Functionality

The vulnerability affects the functionality of the Porto Theme up to version 2.12.. It is critical for users having versions lower than 2.12.1 to update their themes to the latest version that addresses this security threat.

Code Snippet Demonstrating the Issue

To understand the vulnerability better, let's take a look at a simple code snippet that demonstrates the issue:

function checkUserAccess() {
  // User role set as 'administrator' for demonstration purposes.
  $userRole = 'administrator';

  // Access control security level set to 1 for this specific functionality.
  $accessSecurityLevel = 1;

  // Check if the user role can access the functionality.
  if (! in_array($userRole, $accessSecurityLevel)) {
    return false;
  }
  return true;
}

// The following function call will return true, granting access to the unauthorized user.
$result = checkUserAccess();

In the example above, the checkUserAccess() function is not correctly validating the user roles against the access control security levels. Thus, allowing an unauthorized user with an 'administrator' role to bypass the security checks.

Original References

For more information about the CVE-2023-48739 vulnerability, you can refer to the following resources:

1. National Vulnerability Database (NVD) - CVE-2023-48739
2. Porto Theme - Security Update

Exploit Details

An attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability by spoofing the user role, gaining access to restricted areas of the website, and manipulating sensitive data. For instance, they might be able to change prices on an e-commerce site, delete user accounts, or even gain access to sensitive user data such as personal information, or credit card details.

Mitigation

To address this issue, it is crucial to update your Porto Theme to version 2.12.1 or later, which contains a fix for the vulnerability. Additionally, always ensure that your access control security levels are appropriately configured according to your user roles, and routinely audit your website's security to prevent any unauthorized access.

Conclusion

The CVE-2023-48739 vulnerability highlights the importance of having correctly configured access control security levels in your website, especially when using third-party components like themes. Make sure to keep your site up-to-date and periodically review its security configurations to protect it from potential threats.

Timeline

Published on: 01/02/2025 15:15:20 UTC