CVE-2023-46776 in Auto Excerpt Everywhere Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/06/2023
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Serena Villa Auto Excerpt everywhere plugin <= 1.5 versions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2025
The CVE-2023-46776 vulnerability represents a critical Cross-Site Request Forgery flaw discovered in the Serena Villa Auto Excerpt everywhere WordPress plugin version 1.5 and earlier. This vulnerability resides within the plugin's handling of user requests and lacks proper validation mechanisms to verify the authenticity of incoming requests from authorized users. The flaw allows malicious actors to exploit the absence of anti-CSRF tokens or similar protective measures, enabling them to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users who visit compromised web pages or click on malicious links.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to implement robust request verification procedures. When users interact with the plugin's administrative functions or perform actions that modify content or settings, the system does not validate whether the request originates from a legitimate user session. This absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms creates an attack surface where an attacker can craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated users, leveraging the trust relationship between the user's browser and the vulnerable plugin. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates within a widely used WordPress plugin ecosystem, potentially affecting numerous websites that have not updated to patched versions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation or content theft. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform administrative actions such as modifying plugin settings, creating or deleting content, altering user permissions, or potentially gaining deeper access to the WordPress installation. The vulnerability affects all users who have administrative privileges or higher access levels within the WordPress environment, making it particularly dangerous for site administrators who may unknowingly trigger malicious requests. Given that the plugin is designed to automatically generate excerpts for various content types, attackers could potentially manipulate content creation workflows or modify existing excerpts to include malicious code or redirect users to harmful destinations.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and authentication verification practices that violate fundamental web security principles. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through web application exploitation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including updating to the patched version of the plugin, implementing additional security layers such as Content Security Policy headers, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of regular security audits and keeping all WordPress plugins updated to prevent exploitation of known weaknesses in third-party components.