CVE-2023-4293 in Sell Digital Products Securely Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/12/2023
The Premium Packages - Sell Digital Products Securely plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 5.7.4 due to insufficient restriction on the 'wpdmpp_update_profile' function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with minimal permissions such as a subscriber, to modify their user role by supplying the 'profile[role]' parameter during a profile update.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/08/2023
The vulnerability identified in CVE-2023-4293 affects the Premium Packages - Sell Digital Products Securely plugin for WordPress, specifically impacting versions up to and including 5.7.4. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the platform's access control mechanisms and could potentially allow unauthorized privilege escalation within the WordPress environment. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and authorization checks within the plugin's core functionality, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate user permissions.
The technical flaw manifests through the 'wpdmpp_update_profile' function which fails to properly validate or restrict the 'profile[role]' parameter during user profile updates. This function operates without sufficient authorization checks, allowing any authenticated user regardless of their current role permissions to submit a request that includes a modified role parameter. The vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's user management system and exploits a design weakness in the parameter handling process. Attackers can leverage this flaw by crafting a profile update request that includes the 'profile[role]' parameter with a value corresponding to a higher privilege level such as administrator or editor.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to WordPress installations using the affected plugin. An attacker with minimal subscriber-level permissions can escalate their privileges to gain access to administrative functions, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it can enable attackers to modify plugin settings, access sensitive user data, upload malicious files, and manipulate digital product offerings. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the multi-layered security architecture that WordPress relies upon to maintain user role isolation.
The vulnerability maps to CWE-276, which describes inadequate privilege management, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for Valid Accounts and T1484.001 for Privilege Escalation. Organizations using this plugin face potential data breaches, unauthorized content modification, and complete administrative control loss if the vulnerability remains unpatched. The attack vector requires minimal user interaction beyond authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by attackers who have gained access through other means such as credential theft or phishing campaigns.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching to version 5.7.5 or later where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and authorization checks. Administrators should also implement additional monitoring for unusual profile update activities and review user role assignments regularly. Network segmentation and access control measures can help limit the potential impact if an attacker does gain elevated privileges. The plugin developers have addressed this issue by implementing proper authorization checks and input sanitization, ensuring that only users with appropriate administrative privileges can modify user roles through the profile update functionality.