CVE-2020-7947
📋 TL;DR
The Login by Auth0 plugin for WordPress before version 4.0.0 contains CSV injection vulnerabilities due to lack of input sanitization and validation when exporting user data. Attackers can craft malicious Excel documents that execute arbitrary commands when opened, potentially compromising systems. This affects all WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of the Auth0 plugin.
💻 Affected Systems
- Login by Auth0 WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise via arbitrary command execution on victim's machine when malicious CSV is opened in Excel, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local command execution on the victim's workstation when malicious CSV file is opened, potentially stealing credentials or installing malware.
If Mitigated
No impact if proper input validation and output encoding are implemented, or if users don't open untrusted CSV files in Excel.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious CSV file) and typically requires authenticated access to export user data.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.0.0
Vendor Advisory: https://auth0.com/docs/security/bulletins/2020-03-31_wpauth0
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Login by Auth0' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. If manual update needed, download version 4.0.0+ from WordPress.org and replace plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable User Export Functionality
allRemove or restrict access to user data export features in the Auth0 plugin settings.
Input Validation Filter
allImplement custom input validation for all user data fields before export.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the Auth0 plugin entirely and use alternative authentication methods.
- Implement strict access controls to limit who can export user data from the WordPress admin interface.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins → Login by Auth0 → Version number. If version is below 4.0.0, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=auth0 --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 4.0.0 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual user data export activities
- Multiple failed export attempts
- Admin user exporting large amounts of user data
Network Indicators:
- CSV file downloads from WordPress admin area with unusual patterns
- Excel files with embedded formulas from WordPress
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (event="plugin_export" OR event="user_data_export") AND plugin="auth0"🔗 References
- https://auth0.com/docs/cms/wordpress
- https://auth0.com/docs/security/bulletins/2020-03-31_wpauth0
- https://github.com/auth0/wp-auth0/security/advisories/GHSA-59vf-cgfw-6h6v
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/auth0/#developers
- https://auth0.com/docs/cms/wordpress
- https://auth0.com/docs/security/bulletins/2020-03-31_wpauth0
- https://github.com/auth0/wp-auth0/security/advisories/GHSA-59vf-cgfw-6h6v
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/auth0/#developers
