CVE-2013-7233 in WordPress
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the retrospam component in wp-admin/options-discussion.php in WordPress 2.0.11 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that move comments to the moderation list.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/01/2025
The CVE-2013-7233 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the WordPress content management system that specifically affects versions 2.0.11 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the retrospam component located within the wp-admin/options-discussion.php administrative interface, making it particularly dangerous as it targets the core administrative functions of WordPress installations. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between administrators and the WordPress application by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in software applications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the retrospam component's comment moderation functionality. When administrators access the discussion settings page, the application fails to validate that incoming requests to move comments to the moderation list originate from authenticated administrative sessions. Attackers can construct malicious web pages or email attachments containing embedded requests that, when executed by an administrator's browser, automatically submit commands to modify comment moderation settings without the administrator's knowledge or explicit consent. This allows attackers to manipulate comment queues and potentially disrupt the normal operation of WordPress comment systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple comment manipulation, as it provides attackers with a foothold for further administrative compromise within WordPress installations. Successful exploitation enables attackers to move comments to moderation lists, potentially causing denial of service conditions by overwhelming moderation queues or removing legitimate comments that might contain important information. The vulnerability particularly affects WordPress installations where administrators frequently access the admin interface and where the retrospam component is enabled, making it a significant threat to blog administrators who may inadvertently click on malicious links or visit compromised websites. This vulnerability directly maps to the ATT&CK technique T1548.002, which involves exploiting administrative privileges through credential compromise or session hijacking mechanisms.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-7233 require immediate patching of WordPress installations to versions 2.0.12 or later where the CSRF protection mechanisms have been properly implemented. System administrators should also implement additional security measures including network-level protections such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious requests to administrative endpoints. The implementation of proper CSRF token validation across all administrative interfaces should be enforced through security audits of WordPress installations. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts and regularly monitoring administrative access logs for suspicious activities that might indicate CSRF attack attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other components of the WordPress ecosystem that might present similar attack vectors.