CVE-2023-4000 in Waiting One-click Countdowns Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/31/2023
The Waiting: One-click countdowns plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in versions up to, and including, 0.6.2. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on its AJAX actions. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to create and delete countdowns, via forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2026
The CVE-2023-4000 vulnerability affects the Waiting: One-click countdowns WordPress plugin, specifically targeting versions up to and including 0.6.2. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress sites utilizing this plugin. The vulnerability stems from inadequate security measures within the plugin's implementation, creating an exploitable condition that could allow malicious actors to manipulate countdown functionality without proper authentication. The issue manifests through the absence of proper nonce validation mechanisms in the plugin's AJAX handling processes, which are fundamental security controls designed to prevent unauthorized actions.
The technical flaw resides in the plugin's failure to implement proper nonce validation for its AJAX endpoints. Nonces serve as cryptographic tokens that verify the authenticity of requests and ensure they originate from legitimate sources within the WordPress environment. When these validation mechanisms are absent or improperly implemented, attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated users. This vulnerability specifically impacts the plugin's ability to distinguish between legitimate administrative actions and forged requests, creating a pathway for unauthorized modifications to countdown elements on affected websites.
The operational impact of this CSRF vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, potentially compromising the entire WordPress administration interface. An attacker could exploit this weakness to create unauthorized countdowns that might serve malicious purposes such as displaying inappropriate content or redirecting users to harmful websites. The ability to delete existing countdowns could disrupt site functionality and potentially cause data loss. Since the vulnerability requires minimal user interaction from the administrator, it represents a particularly dangerous threat vector where social engineering plays a crucial role in exploitation.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery conditions in software applications. The weakness demonstrates poor security implementation practices that violate fundamental web application security principles. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms, as attackers could use the created countdowns to maintain influence over the affected WordPress installation. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the WordPress admin interface and the plugin, making it particularly insidious.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the nonce validation issues, as this represents the most direct solution to the vulnerability. Administrators should also implement additional security measures including regular security audits, monitoring of plugin functionality, and user education about the risks of clicking suspicious links. The WordPress security team recommends enabling two-factor authentication for administrative accounts and maintaining comprehensive backup strategies to ensure rapid recovery in case of successful exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious AJAX requests that attempt to manipulate the plugin's functionality.