CVE-2023-47830

Vulnerability

Overview

The Live Preview for Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress (versions up to 1.2.0) contains a missing authorization vulnerability [1]. Specifically, the plugin fails to properly validate access control security levels, meaning that certain functions or endpoints can be accessed without proper authentication or permission checks. This is a classic broken access control issue, as described in the Patchstack advisory [1].

Exploitation

Prerequisites

Exploitation requires only that an attacker has low-level access, such as a subscriber or contributor account, on a WordPress site running the affected plugin [1]. The vulnerability does not require any special network position; it can be triggered through standard HTTP requests to the plugin's AJAX or REST handlers. Attackers can leverage this to perform actions that should normally be restricted to higher-privileged users like administrators [1].

Impact

A successful exploit allows an attacker to execute unauthorized actions within the Contact Form 7 environment, such as modifying live preview settings or viewing sensitive data [1]. This can lead to further compromise of the site, especially if combined with other vulnerabilities. The CVSS score of 5.4 (Medium) reflects the moderate impact but also the low complexity and low privileges required [1].

Mitigation

The vulnerability has been patched in version 1.2.1 of the plugin. Users are strongly advised to update immediately [1]. As a temporary workaround, hosting providers may restrict access to the vulnerable endpoints, though updating is the recommended course of action [1].