CVE-2023-0402 in Social Warfare Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/19/2023
The Social Warfare plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass due to a missing capability check on several AJAX actions in versions up to, and including, 4.3.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to delete post meta information and reset network access tokens.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-0402 affects the Social Warfare plugin for WordPress, a popular social sharing plugin that adds social media functionality to wordpress sites. This issue represents a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the plugin's security model and exposes wordpress installations to potential exploitation by malicious actors within the system. The vulnerability specifically resides in the plugin's handling of AJAX actions, which are asynchronous requests used to perform backend operations without requiring full page reloads. The flaw allows authenticated users with subscriber-level permissions or higher to execute privileged actions that should normally be restricted to administrators or users with elevated privileges.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from a missing capability check within the plugin's codebase, specifically affecting several AJAX endpoints that handle post meta information management and network access token reset functionality. This omission creates a direct pathway for privilege escalation attacks where attackers can manipulate the plugin's AJAX handlers to perform unauthorized operations. The vulnerability affects all versions of the Social Warfare plugin up to and including version 4.3.0, indicating that the flaw has existed for some time and likely affected numerous wordpress installations. The missing capability verification means that the plugin fails to properly validate whether the requesting user possesses the necessary permissions to execute the targeted actions, effectively allowing lower-privileged users to assume higher-level privileges through these specific API endpoints.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables authenticated attackers to perform destructive operations that could compromise the integrity and availability of wordpress sites. Subscribers and users with similar permissions can exploit this flaw to delete post meta information, which may contain critical data about posts such as social sharing metrics, custom fields, or other metadata that could be valuable for site operations. Additionally, the ability to reset network access tokens represents a particularly dangerous aspect of this vulnerability, as it could allow attackers to disrupt social media integration features, potentially leading to complete service outages or enabling further attacks through compromised authentication tokens. This vulnerability particularly affects wordpress sites that rely heavily on social sharing features and may have multiple users with varying permission levels, as it creates an attack vector that could be exploited by any user with subscriber access or higher.
The security implications extend beyond immediate data loss or service disruption to encompass potential lateral movement within compromised wordpress installations. This vulnerability aligns with attack patterns described in the attack tactic of privilege escalation and persistence within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, specifically mapping to techniques involving credential access and defense evasion. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability manifests as a weakness categorized under CWE-284: Improper Access Control, which occurs when a system fails to properly enforce access restrictions on resources. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checking where the plugin does not adequately validate user privileges before executing sensitive operations. Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including updating to the patched version of the Social Warfare plugin, reviewing user permissions to minimize the attack surface, and monitoring for suspicious activity related to post meta modifications or token resets. Security teams should also consider implementing network-level monitoring to detect unauthorized AJAX requests and establish proper access control policies that align with the principle of least privilege to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other plugins or custom code implementations.