CVE-2023-2628
📋 TL;DR
The KiviCare WordPress plugin before version 3.2.1 lacks proper CSRF protection in AJAX endpoints, allowing attackers to trick logged-in administrators into performing unauthorized actions. This affects all WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of the KiviCare plugin, potentially compromising medical appointment systems and user data.
💻 Affected Systems
- KiviCare WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Kivicare by Iqonic
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could delete all medical records and appointments, create unauthorized admin accounts, or completely compromise the healthcare management system.
Likely Case
Targeted attacks deleting specific appointments or creating unauthorized patient/doctor accounts for fraud or data theft.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF tokens and user awareness, impact is limited to failed exploitation attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires tricking authenticated users into visiting malicious pages. No authentication bypass needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.2.1
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/e0741e2c-c529-4815-8744-16e01cdb0aed
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find KiviCare plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update available. 5. Alternatively, download version 3.2.1+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
linuxDisable KiviCare plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate kivicare-clinic-management-system
WordPress Security Plugin CSRF Protection
allEnable CSRF protection via security plugins like Wordfence
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict user access controls and limit admin sessions
- Deploy WAF rules to block suspicious AJAX requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → KiviCare version. If version < 3.2.1, vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get kivicare-clinic-management-system --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm KiviCare plugin version is 3.2.1 or higher in WordPress admin.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple AJAX requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from same session with different referers
- Unauthorized appointment deletions or user creations in plugin logs
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to admin-ajax.php with suspicious referer headers
- CSRF token missing in AJAX requests
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND uri="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND (action="kivicare_*" OR referer NOT CONTAINS site_domain)