CVE-2017-12651 in Loginizer Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) exists in the Blacklist and Whitelist IP Wizard in init.php in the Loginizer plugin before 1.3.6 for WordPress because the HTTP Referer header is not checked.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/04/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12651 represents a critical cross site request forgery flaw within the Loginizer WordPress plugin, specifically affecting versions prior to 1.3.6. This vulnerability resides in the Blacklist and Whitelist IP Wizard functionality located within the init.php file, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations that rely on this plugin for access control. The flaw stems from the absence of proper validation for the HTTP Referer header, which is a fundamental security mechanism used to verify the origin of HTTP requests and prevent unauthorized actions from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. The Loginizer plugin, designed to enhance WordPress security through IP-based access controls, becomes inherently compromised when this validation is missing, as it allows malicious actors to exploit the authentication flow and potentially gain unauthorized access to administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the fundamental principle of CSRF protection by failing to validate the referer header that should confirm the request originates from the legitimate administrative interface. When a user with administrative privileges accesses the IP wizard functionality, the system should verify that subsequent requests come from the same domain and referer source to prevent unauthorized modifications to the blacklist and whitelist configurations. Without this validation, an attacker can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from the legitimate admin interface, thereby bypassing the intended security controls. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a security weakness where the application fails to validate that requests originate from the same site as the application. The lack of referer header validation creates a pathway for attackers to manipulate IP access control lists, potentially allowing unauthorized IP addresses to bypass security restrictions or block legitimate users from accessing the WordPress administration interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple access control manipulation, as it can lead to complete compromise of the WordPress administrative environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability can modify the IP whitelist to include malicious IP addresses, effectively creating backdoors for future unauthorized access, or remove legitimate IP addresses from the blacklist, allowing known malicious actors to gain access. The consequences include potential data breaches, unauthorized content modification, user account compromise, and complete administrative control over the WordPress installation. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190, which describes the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities to gain access to systems, and T1078, which covers legitimate credentials used for persistence. The attack surface is particularly concerning for WordPress sites that rely heavily on IP-based access controls, as the vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate core security configurations without requiring additional authentication credentials.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-12651 must focus on immediate remediation through plugin updates to version 1.3.6 or later, where the referer header validation has been implemented. Administrators should also consider implementing additional security measures including the use of security headers such as Content Security Policy to further protect against CSRF attacks, regular monitoring of access logs for suspicious activity, and implementation of multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of potential compromise. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of all installed WordPress plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities, as this flaw demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and referer header checking in web application security. The vulnerability also highlights the necessity of following secure coding practices that include proper validation of HTTP headers and implementing robust anti-CSRF mechanisms, particularly in administrative interfaces where configuration changes can have widespread security implications. Additionally, regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors in the wild.