CVE-2023-38393 in Ninja Forms Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/19/2024
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Saturday Drive Ninja Forms.This issue affects Ninja Forms: from n/a through 3.6.25.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/31/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-38393 represents a critical missing authorization flaw within the Saturday Drive Ninja Forms plugin, a widely used form building solution for wordpress platforms. This weakness allows unauthorized users to perform actions that should require proper authentication and permissions, fundamentally undermining the security model of the affected system. The vulnerability exists across all versions of Ninja Forms from the initial release through version 3.6.25, indicating a prolonged period during which the system was susceptible to exploitation. The missing authorization mechanism creates a pathway for attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially gain elevated privileges or access sensitive data within the plugin's functionality.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under the CWE-862 category of "Missing Authorization" which is classified as a fundamental access control weakness in software systems. This type of flaw typically occurs when an application fails to properly verify that an authenticated user has the necessary permissions to perform a specific action. In the context of Ninja Forms, this could manifest as unauthorized individuals gaining access to form management capabilities, data export functions, or administrative controls that should be restricted to legitimate administrators. The vulnerability exploits the absence of proper permission checks, allowing attackers to execute privileged operations without the required authentication credentials or authorization tokens.
The operational impact of this missing authorization vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, potentially enabling attackers to compromise entire wordpress installations through the vulnerable plugin. An attacker could leverage this weakness to modify form configurations, extract sensitive user data, or even establish persistent access points within the target environment. The implications are particularly severe given that Ninja Forms is commonly used for collecting sensitive information from website visitors, making the potential data breach impact substantial. Additionally, this vulnerability could serve as a foothold for further attacks within the network, as compromised forms might be used to distribute malicious content or redirect users to phishing sites.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-38393 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the authorization gap, with administrators verifying that the fix properly implements access controls for all form-related operations. System administrators should also implement network-level monitoring to detect unusual activities related to form submissions or administrative actions that might indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process must include thorough access control reviews to ensure that all user roles have appropriate permissions and that no unauthorized actions can be performed through the plugin interface. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of the wordpress environment to identify any other potentially affected plugins or components that might exhibit similar authorization weaknesses. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and additional security controls to provide defense-in-depth against exploitation attempts targeting this type of authorization flaw.