CVE-2023-45009 in Honeypot for Contact Form 7
Summary
by MITRE • 06/04/2024
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts vulnerability in Forge12 Interactive GmbH Captcha/Honeypot for Contact Form 7 allows Functionality Bypass.This issue affects Captcha/Honeypot for Contact Form 7: from n/a through 1.11.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2024
The CVE-2023-45009 vulnerability represents a critical weakness in the Captcha/Honeypot for Contact Form 7 plugin developed by Forge12 Interactive GmbH, specifically addressing improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts. This flaw manifests as a functionality bypass vulnerability that directly impacts the security mechanisms designed to protect contact forms from automated abuse. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's implementation of anti-automation controls, particularly affecting versions ranging from the initial release through 1.11.3, creating a persistent security gap that could be exploited by malicious actors seeking to circumvent legitimate protection measures.
This technical flaw operates by failing to properly enforce rate limiting or authentication attempt restrictions that should prevent automated systems from repeatedly submitting contact form data. The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass the intended security controls designed to detect and block suspicious activity patterns that typically indicate bot or automated attack behavior. The improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts creates an opening where malicious actors can overwhelm the system's protective mechanisms without encountering the expected barriers that would normally prevent such abuse. This weakness specifically targets the honeypot functionality and captcha validation processes that are fundamental to preventing automated spam submissions and form abuse.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-45009 extends beyond simple spam prevention, potentially enabling more sophisticated attack vectors that could compromise the integrity of contact form submissions. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could systematically bypass security controls to submit malicious content, harvest email addresses, or perform denial of service attacks against legitimate form functionality. The bypass capability means that automated systems designed to detect and block suspicious behavior patterns become ineffective, allowing malicious submissions to proceed unchecked. This creates a significant risk for websites relying on contact forms for customer support, lead generation, or other critical business functions where the integrity of form submissions is paramount.
Security practitioners should recognize this vulnerability as aligning with CWE-307, which specifically addresses improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts, and it demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1213.002 related to data from information repositories. The vulnerability creates a persistent risk that requires immediate attention and remediation. Mitigation strategies should include updating to the latest available version of the plugin where the issue has been addressed, implementing additional rate limiting measures at the web server level, and monitoring form submission patterns for unusual activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-layered security approaches including additional CAPTCHA solutions, IP-based restrictions, and behavioral analysis systems to compensate for the weakened protection mechanisms.
The vulnerability represents a fundamental flaw in the plugin's access control implementation, where the security controls designed to prevent abuse have been bypassed through inadequate enforcement of authentication attempt limitations. This weakness creates an exploitable condition that allows malicious actors to circumvent the very protections that should prevent automated abuse of contact form functionality. The impact extends to potential data integrity issues, service availability concerns, and increased risk of spam and malicious content injection into vulnerable systems. Organizations must prioritize patch management and security monitoring to address this vulnerability effectively while maintaining robust protection against automated threats targeting contact form systems.