CVE-2023-30616 in Form Block Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/20/2023
Form block is a wordpress plugin designed to make form creation easier. Versions prior to 1.0.2 are subject to a Cross-Site Request Forgery due to a missing nonce check. There is potential for a Cross Site Request Forgery for all form blocks, since it allows to send requests to the forms from any website without a user noticing. Users are advised to upgrade to version 1.0.2. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-30616 affects the Form block WordPress plugin, specifically versions prior to 1.0.2, and represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness that undermines the security integrity of web applications. This vulnerability stems from the absence of proper nonce validation mechanisms within the plugin's form processing functionality, creating a significant attack surface that allows malicious actors to exploit the system without user consent or awareness. The issue manifests when the plugin fails to verify the authenticity of requests originating from external websites, thereby enabling unauthorized form submissions that can be executed silently in the background of authenticated user sessions.
The technical flaw resides in the plugin's failure to implement proper cryptographic nonce verification during form processing operations, which is a fundamental security mechanism designed to prevent unauthorized requests from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. This omission directly violates established security principles and creates a pathway for attackers to craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the WordPress application. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the authentication and authorization controls that should protect against unauthorized form submissions, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users maintain administrative privileges or have elevated access rights.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it enables attackers to perform unauthorized actions within the WordPress environment through the compromised plugin. An attacker could potentially submit forms with malicious data, trigger automated actions, or even exploit the vulnerability to escalate privileges within the affected WordPress installation. The silent nature of CSRF attacks means that victims remain unaware of the malicious activities occurring in their authenticated sessions, creating a persistent threat vector that can be exploited repeatedly without detection. This vulnerability particularly affects WordPress sites that rely heavily on form processing and user interactions, as it undermines the trust model between the user and the application.
From a security standards perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers the use of malicious web content to execute unauthorized actions. The absence of nonce validation represents a fundamental failure in the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a lack of proper input validation and request verification mechanisms. Organizations utilizing the Form block plugin must immediately implement the recommended upgrade to version 1.0.2, as no effective workarounds exist for this particular vulnerability. The mitigation strategy centers entirely on patch management and software version control, emphasizing the importance of maintaining up-to-date security controls within WordPress ecosystems. Without proper remediation, affected systems remain vulnerable to persistent exploitation attempts that could lead to data compromise, service disruption, or further lateral movement within compromised networks.