CVE-2023-47551 in Donations Made Easy Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/19/2023
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in RedNao Donations Made Easy – Smart Donations.This issue affects Donations Made Easy – Smart Donations: from n/a through 4.0.12.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/06/2023
The Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-47551 resides within the RedNao Donations Made Easy plugin, specifically affecting versions through 4.0.12. This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of web applications by exploiting the trust relationship between authenticated users and web servers. The plugin's failure to implement proper anti-CSRF measures creates an environment where malicious actors can manipulate authenticated user sessions to perform unauthorized actions. The vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in critical donation processing endpoints, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate authenticated users. This flaw directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a weakness where applications fail to validate that requests originate from the intended user. The attack vector typically involves tricking users into clicking malicious links or visiting compromised websites that submit forged requests to the vulnerable donation system. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on the plugin for donation processing, as it could enable unauthorized financial transactions, account modifications, and data manipulation. The impact extends beyond immediate financial loss to include potential reputational damage and regulatory compliance violations. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability through various techniques including social engineering campaigns, compromised websites, or malicious advertisements that direct users to exploit the CSRF flaw. The vulnerability operates within the ATT&CK framework under the T1531 technique category, which encompasses "Modify Application Configuration", as it allows attackers to manipulate the plugin's operational parameters through forged requests. Organizations utilizing this plugin face heightened risk during periods of high user activity or when users access the system from unsecured networks. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical expertise, making it particularly dangerous for widespread abuse. Security researchers have documented similar CSRF vulnerabilities in other web applications where session management and request validation mechanisms were insufficiently implemented. The lack of proper token validation creates a persistent risk that remains active until the plugin is updated to include appropriate CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including updating to patched versions, implementing additional security layers, and monitoring for suspicious donation activities that may indicate exploitation attempts.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the plugin's security architecture where authentication tokens are either absent or improperly validated during critical user operations. The vulnerability specifically affects donation processing workflows where users submit payment information or modify their donation settings. Attackers can construct malicious requests that leverage the authenticated user's session cookies to execute unauthorized transactions without requiring knowledge of the user's credentials. This type of attack typically involves creating a malicious webpage or embedding code within existing websites that automatically submits requests to the vulnerable plugin's endpoints. The absence of anti-CSRF tokens means that the web application cannot distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and forged requests submitted by attackers. From a compliance standpoint, this vulnerability creates exposure to various regulatory frameworks including PCI DSS requirements for secure transaction processing and GDPR provisions regarding user data protection. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that donation systems often handle sensitive financial information and personal data, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals. The attack surface is particularly broad as users may interact with the plugin from various devices and network environments, increasing the potential for successful exploitation. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with common patterns identified in web application security assessments where insufficient input validation and session management create exploitable conditions. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions indicates a systemic issue in the plugin's development lifecycle where security considerations were not adequately integrated into the code review and testing processes. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their web applications to identify similar vulnerabilities in other plugins or custom code that may be susceptible to the same class of attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-47551 should prioritize immediate action including updating to the latest available version of the RedNao Donations Made Easy plugin where the vulnerability has been addressed. Organizations should implement additional security controls such as Content Security Policy headers to limit the execution of malicious scripts that could be used to exploit the CSRF vulnerability. Network-level protections including web application firewalls can provide an additional layer of defense by monitoring for suspicious request patterns that may indicate CSRF attacks. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms should be enforced at both the application and session levels to ensure that all critical operations require valid authentication tokens. Security teams should establish monitoring protocols to detect unusual donation patterns or transaction behaviors that could indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify other potential CSRF vulnerabilities within the organization's web applications. The vulnerability's remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that the implemented fixes do not introduce new security issues or disrupt legitimate user functionality. Organizations should also consider implementing user education programs to raise awareness about the risks of clicking suspicious links or visiting untrusted websites that may host CSRF attack payloads. The security community has identified similar vulnerabilities in other donation and payment processing systems, highlighting the importance of proactive security measures. Incident response procedures should be updated to include specific protocols for handling potential CSRF exploitation attempts, including forensic analysis capabilities to trace attack vectors and identify compromised systems. Regular security updates and patch management processes should be strengthened to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future versions of the plugin or other web applications. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of integrating security considerations into all phases of software development, from initial design through deployment and ongoing maintenance.