CVE-2023-49741: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing Vulnerability in Wpdevart Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode Plugin for WordPress

WordPress is known for its extensive library of plugins, allowing webmasters to easily add functionalities and features to their websites. One such plugin, Wpdevart's Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode, is designed to provide a user-friendly solution for creating "coming soon" or "maintenance mode" pages for a site under construction or being updated.

However, a recent vulnerability discovered in this plugin, identified as CVE-2023-49741, allows an attacker to bypass the authentication system and gain unauthorized access to some functionality of a site using the Wpdevart Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode plugin. This blog post will take a closer look at the details of this vulnerability, provide a code snippet, and suggest some possible mitigation techniques.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability, officially known as CVE-2023-49741, is an Authentication Bypass by Spoofing issue affecting Wpdevart Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode plugin versions n/a through 3.7.3. The problem arises from the plugin not properly constraining certain actions by Access Control Lists (ACLs), allowing attackers to bypass the authentication process and gain unauthorized access to certain functionalities of the target site.

The vulnerability can be demonstrated in a simple step-by-step process, as follows

1. First, the attacker identifies a target website using the vulnerable version of the Wpdevart Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode plugin.

2. The attacker then sends a simple HTTP POST request to the target website, including a specifically crafted "User-Agent" header. Here's an example of how the request might look:

POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.1
Host: targetsite.com
User-Agent: yoursite.com;
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: xx

action=wd_cs_mm_ajax&task=start_session

3. When the server receives this request, the plugin does not properly check the authenticity of the request or whether it should allow the user to perform the action, which in this case is starting a new session.

References

It is crucial for webmasters to stay informed about security vulnerabilities and updates related to the plugins and software they use. The official reference for this vulnerability, CVE-2023-49741, can be found in the following sources:

- The National Vulnerability Database: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49741
- CVE Details: https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2023-49741/

To protect your site from this vulnerability, the following steps are recommended

1. Regularly update your plugins, themes, and core files on your WordPress website to ensure all potential vulnerabilities are patched.

2. If you are using a version of the Wpdevart Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode plugin older than 3.7.3, it is imperative to update to the latest version as soon as possible to prevent potential exploitation by attackers.

Conclusion

The discovery of the CVE-2023-49741 vulnerability in the Wpdevart Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode plugin is a reminder of the importance of keeping your WordPress plugins, themes, and core files updated and secure. By following the suggested mitigation techniques and staying informed about security vulnerabilities, you can help minimize the likelihood of your website falling prey to exploitation.

Timeline

Published on: 06/04/2024 11:15:50 UTC
Last modified on: 06/07/2024 17:11:38 UTC