CVE-2023-46202 in Auto Login New User After Registration Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Jeff Sherk Auto Login New User After Registration plugin
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/16/2023
The CVE-2023-46202 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the Jeff Sherk Auto Login New User After Registration WordPress plugin. This vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's handling of user registration and auto-login processes, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations that utilize this component. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of incoming requests, particularly those related to user account creation and automatic authentication mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent, potentially leading to account takeovers and privilege escalation within the affected WordPress environment.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs at the plugin's backend processing layer where registration and auto-login functions lack proper anti-CSRF token validation. When users register through the plugin's auto-login mechanism, the system does not adequately verify the authenticity of the request origin or validate the presence of cryptographic tokens that would prevent malicious actors from crafting forged requests. This weakness allows attackers to construct malicious web pages or email attachments that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically trigger registration or login actions within the target WordPress site. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the application layer, bypassing traditional network-level security controls and directly targeting the web application's trust model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to manipulate user accounts, modify registration parameters, and potentially gain elevated privileges within the WordPress ecosystem. An attacker exploiting this CSRF flaw could register new user accounts with administrative privileges, change existing user roles, or perform other malicious actions that compromise the integrity of the WordPress installation. The vulnerability affects all versions of the Jeff Sherk Auto Login New User After Registration plugin that lack proper CSRF protection mechanisms, making it a widespread concern for WordPress administrators who have not updated their installations. This weakness particularly impacts sites where user registration is enabled and where the plugin's auto-login functionality is actively used, creating a window of opportunity for attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the user's browser and the WordPress application.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-46202 should prioritize immediate plugin updates from the vendor, as the most effective solution involves patching the underlying code to implement proper CSRF token validation. System administrators should also consider implementing additional security layers including web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious request patterns, and monitoring for unusual registration or login activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and falls under ATT&CK technique T1566.002 for credential access through web application attacks. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their WordPress installations to identify all instances of the vulnerable plugin and ensure that proper input validation and anti-CSRF measures are implemented across all user-facing web application components. Regular security audits and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to prevent similar issues from emerging in other plugin components or custom application code.