The Amazonify plugin for WordPress, a popular tool for embedding Amazon products and earning affiliate commissions, has been found vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks, affecting all versions up to, and including, .8.1. This vulnerability can allow unauthenticated attackers to update the plugin's settings, including the Amazon Tracking ID, using a forged request.

Background

A CSRF attack occurs when an attacker tricks a user into performing an action that they did not intend to, such as clicking on a malicious link. In this case, the Amazonify plugin for WordPress is lacking adequate nonce validation in one of its functions, leaving it exposed to such an attack. As a result, unauthenticated attackers could potentially forge requests to change the plugin's settings without the site administrator's knowledge.

Exploit Details

The weakness lies in the 'amazonifyOptionsPage()' function, where there is either missing or incorrect nonce validation. This oversight enables the attacker to forge requests and update the plugin's settings, including the Amazon Tracking ID, which is essential for earning affiliate commissions. To exploit this vulnerability, attackers would need to deceive a site administrator into executing an action, such as clicking on a malicious link.

Code Snippet

The vulnerable function, 'amazonifyOptionsPage()', can be found in the 'amazonify.php' file in the plugin's source code.

Here's a simplified version of the affected function

function amazonifyOptionsPage() {
    ...
    if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
        ...
        if ( $_POST['action'] == 'update' ) {
            ...
            update_option('amazonify_tracking_id', $_POST['amazonify_tracking_id']);
            ...
        }
    ...
}

As we can see from the code snippet, there's no proper nonce check in place ensuring that the action performed is authentic.

Mitigation

To safeguard your WordPress installation, it's essential to update the Amazonify plugin to its latest secure version. Additionally, always practice caution when clicking on suspicious links or interacting with emails from unknown sources. Site administrators should also perform regular website security audits to protect against potential vulnerabilities.

Original References and Additional Resources

1. Amazonify Plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/amazonify/
2. WordPress Nonce: https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/theme-security/using-nonces/
3. CVE-2023-5818: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-5818

Conclusion

The CVE-2023-5818 exploit poses a significant threat, given the popularity of the Amazonify plugin for WordPress. To protect your website from unauthorized attackers, it is vital to keep your plugins updated to the latest secure versions. In this case, ensure you are using an Amazonify version newer than .8.1 to mitigate the risk of a CSRF attack. Stay cautious and pay attention to new security updates and best practices to maintain your site's integrity.

Timeline

Published on: 11/07/2023 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/15/2023 15:38:00 UTC