CVE-2023-52149 in Floating Button Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/05/2024
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Wow-Company Floating Button.This issue affects Floating Button: from n/a through 6.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/24/2024
The CVE-2023-52149 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Wow-Company Floating Button WordPress plugin, a widely deployed tool for creating interactive floating buttons on websites. This vulnerability exists in versions ranging from n/a through 6.0, indicating a substantial attack surface that could potentially affect numerous WordPress installations. The flaw stems from inadequate validation of HTTP request origins and missing anti-CSRF tokens in the plugin's administrative interfaces, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs when the floating button plugin fails to properly verify the source of incoming requests to its administrative endpoints. Without proper origin checking or anti-CSRF token validation, an attacker can craft malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions. This allows unauthorized modifications to plugin settings, potentially enabling attackers to alter button configurations, inject malicious code, or manipulate the plugin's functionality in ways that could compromise the entire website. The vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's administrative interfaces where configuration changes are processed, making it particularly dangerous for sites that rely on the floating button functionality for user engagement or conversion optimization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration changes, as it could enable attackers to establish persistent backdoors or redirect users to malicious websites through manipulated button behaviors. Given that floating buttons are commonly used for call-to-action elements, social sharing, or contact forms, an attacker could redirect users to phishing sites or inject malicious scripts that compromise user data. The vulnerability's presence in versions through 6.0 suggests that a significant number of WordPress installations could be affected, potentially creating a large-scale attack vector. Security researchers have noted that CSRF vulnerabilities of this nature often serve as initial access points for more sophisticated attacks, as they allow attackers to gain footholds before escalating to other exploitation techniques.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of the Wow-Company Floating Button plugin where available, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and establishing network-level protections such as web application firewalls. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in web application security. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 for initial access through malicious web content, and could potentially lead to T1071.001 for application layer protocols or T1505.003 for command and control through malicious code injection. The risk assessment indicates this vulnerability should be prioritized for immediate remediation due to its potential for widespread exploitation and the relatively simple attack vectors available to threat actors.