CVE-2023-1977
📋 TL;DR
The Booking Manager WordPress plugin before version 2.0.29 has a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability that allows attackers with Subscriber-level privileges to make requests to internal network resources. This could lead to information disclosure, internal service enumeration, or attacks against internal systems. WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Booking Manager WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attacker gains access to sensitive internal systems, exfiltrates data, or launches attacks against internal infrastructure from the compromised WordPress server.
Likely Case
Attacker maps internal network, discovers internal services, and potentially accesses internal systems with weak authentication.
If Mitigated
Limited to internal network reconnaissance with no critical systems exposed or properly segmented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access with Subscriber privileges or higher. SSRF payloads can be delivered through plugin admin panel or shortcodes.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.0.29
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/842f3b1f-395a-4ea2-b7df-a36f70e8c790
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Booking Manager plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. Alternatively, download version 2.0.29+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Registration
allDisable new user registration or require administrator approval to prevent attackers from obtaining Subscriber accounts.
WordPress Settings > General > Membership: Uncheck 'Anyone can register'
Network Segmentation
linuxRestrict WordPress server's access to internal network resources using firewall rules.
iptables -A OUTPUT -d 10.0.0.0/8 -j DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -d 172.16.0.0/12 -j DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -d 192.168.0.0/16 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate and remove the Booking Manager plugin entirely
- Implement strict network egress filtering from the WordPress server
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Booking Manager version. If version is below 2.0.29, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=booking-manager --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Booking Manager plugin version is 2.0.29 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual outbound HTTP requests from WordPress server to internal IP addresses
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful Subscriber login
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests from WordPress server to internal RFC1918 addresses with .ics file extensions or calendar-related parameters
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("booking-manager" OR ".ics") AND dest_ip IN (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16)