CVE-2023-5845 in Simple Social Media Share Buttons Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/27/2023
The Simple Social Media Share Buttons WordPress plugin before 5.1.1 leaks password-protected post content to unauthenticated visitors in some meta tags
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-5845 affects the Simple Social Media Share Buttons WordPress plugin, specifically versions prior to 5.1.1, presenting a critical security flaw that undermines the confidentiality of password-protected content. This issue manifests through the improper handling of meta tags that contain sensitive information from password-protected posts, exposing content to unauthorized users who lack proper authentication credentials. The vulnerability represents a direct violation of access control mechanisms that should prevent unauthenticated users from accessing restricted content within WordPress environments.
The technical flaw stems from the plugin's failure to properly sanitize or filter meta tag content when generating social sharing elements for password-protected posts. When users create password-protected content within WordPress, the system typically ensures that only authenticated users can access the full post content. However, this vulnerability allows the plugin to inadvertently include portions of the password-protected content within meta tags that are accessible to anyone visiting the page, effectively bypassing the authentication requirements. This occurs during the social sharing button generation process where the plugin extracts and embeds content information into meta tags for social media platforms, without properly checking access permissions or content restrictions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it represents a significant breach in the security model of WordPress sites that rely on password protection for sensitive content. Attackers can exploit this flaw to harvest protected content through automated tools that parse meta tags, potentially gaining access to confidential information, personal data, or proprietary content that should remain restricted. The vulnerability affects all WordPress installations using the affected plugin version, creating a widespread risk for content creators, businesses, and organizations that depend on password protection for their digital assets. This issue particularly impacts sites that host sensitive information such as client data, internal communications, or draft content that should not be publicly accessible.
Security professionals should immediately update to version 5.1.1 or later of the Simple Social Media Share Buttons plugin to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of meta tag content across their WordPress installations to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses improper exposure of sensitive information, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering attacks that leverage information disclosure. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their WordPress environments to identify other plugins or themes that might exhibit similar vulnerabilities in meta tag handling or content access control mechanisms. Regular security audits and automated scanning tools should be deployed to maintain ongoing protection against similar disclosure vulnerabilities that could compromise the confidentiality of protected content within web applications.