CVE-2018-5673 in booking-calendar Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in the booking-calendar plugin 2.1.7 for WordPress. CSRF exists via wp-admin/admin.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-5673 resides within the booking-calendar plugin version 2.1.7 for WordPress, representing a critical cross-site request forgery weakness that exposes administrators to unauthorized actions. This flaw specifically manifests within the wp-admin/admin.php endpoint, which serves as a central administrative interface for WordPress management operations. The vulnerability allows malicious actors to trick authenticated administrators into executing unintended actions without their knowledge or consent, leveraging the trust relationship between the user and the web application. Such a weakness fundamentally undermines the security model of WordPress by enabling attackers to perform administrative tasks on behalf of legitimate users who are logged into the system.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the booking-calendar plugin's administrative handling routines. When administrators navigate to wp-admin/admin.php while authenticated, the plugin fails to verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative sessions. This absence of request validation creates an exploitable condition where attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from authorized users. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it targets the administrative interface where critical system modifications typically occur, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise WordPress installations. According to CWE classification, this represents a CWE-352 vulnerability, specifically Cross-Site Request Forgery, which is categorized under the broader weakness of insufficient validation of request authenticity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to encompass potential full system compromise and unauthorized administrative access. An attacker could leverage this CSRF flaw to modify booking configurations, alter calendar settings, inject malicious content, or potentially escalate privileges within the WordPress environment. The consequences are particularly severe because administrators often perform sensitive operations through wp-admin/admin.php, including plugin management, theme customization, and user role modifications. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal user interaction beyond visiting a malicious webpage, making it particularly dangerous in phishing scenarios. Organizations running WordPress installations with the affected booking-calendar plugin face significant risk of unauthorized modifications, data corruption, or complete administrative takeover, especially when administrators regularly access the WordPress admin interface from potentially compromised systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-5673 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the CSRF vulnerability, as the original plugin developers have likely released patches. Administrators should implement additional protective measures including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious administrative requests, enforcing strict browser security policies such as Content Security Policy headers, and implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by limiting administrative access to essential personnel only and regularly auditing administrative activities. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect anomalous patterns in administrative requests, particularly those originating from unusual IP addresses or user agents. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 Valid Accounts and T1548 Abuse of Cloud Infrastructure, as attackers may leverage compromised administrative credentials to establish persistent access. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar CSRF vulnerabilities in other plugins and themes, as the booking-calendar plugin represents a common target for such attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing automated patch management systems to ensure timely updates of all WordPress components and maintain detailed logs of administrative activities for forensic analysis.