CVE-2023-51378 in Rise Blocks Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 12/29/2023
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Rise Themes Rise Blocks – A Complete Gutenberg Page Builder.This issue affects Rise Blocks – A Complete Gutenberg Page Builder: from n/a through 3.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2024
The CVE-2023-51378 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Rise Themes Rise Blocks plugin, which serves as a comprehensive Gutenberg page builder for wordpress environments. This vulnerability specifically impacts versions of the plugin ranging from an unspecified initial version through 3.1, creating a substantial attack surface for malicious actors targeting wordpress sites that utilize this particular page builder. The flaw resides in the plugin's insufficient validation of cross-site requests, allowing unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated users without their explicit consent or knowledge.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or mechanisms within the plugin's administrative interfaces and AJAX endpoints. When a user with administrative privileges accesses the wordpress dashboard and subsequently visits a malicious website or is tricked into clicking a crafted link, the attacker can leverage the authenticated session to execute unintended operations within the Rise Blocks plugin context. This includes potentially modifying page configurations, adding malicious content, or performing administrative actions that the legitimate user did not authorize. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and exploits the trust relationship between the user's browser and the wordpress installation, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently browse the web or visit untrusted sites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to potentially compromise entire wordpress installations when combined with other exploitation techniques. Attackers could leverage this CSRF flaw to inject malicious blocks into pages, modify existing content, or even establish persistent backdoors through the plugin's functionality. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of content management operations, potentially leading to reputational damage, data loss, or unauthorized access to sensitive information. Organizations using the affected plugin versions face significant risk of unauthorized modifications to their website content and structure, with the potential for cascading effects if the compromised site serves as a source for other connected systems or services.
Security mitigations for CVE-2023-51378 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the CSRF implementation gaps and incorporate proper token validation mechanisms. System administrators must ensure that all users with administrative privileges are running the latest plugin version and that appropriate security measures are implemented in the wordpress environment. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and proper session management. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls, content security policies, and regular security audits of installed plugins to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in other components of their wordpress infrastructure. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the technique of privilege escalation through web application exploitation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security monitoring and response protocols to detect and remediate such issues promptly.