CVE-2023-3325 – The CMS Commander WordPress plugin up to versio... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-3325?

CVE-2023-3325 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (HIGH). The CMS Commander WordPress plugin up to version 2.287 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability due to insufficient cryptographic signature validation. Unauthenticated attackers can modify plugin configuration to gain remote control access, potentially creating admin URLs for privilege escalation. This affects WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of the CMS Commander plugin.

📋 TL;DR

The CMS Commander WordPress plugin up to version 2.287 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability due to insufficient cryptographic signature validation. Unauthenticated attackers can modify plugin configuration to gain remote control access, potentially creating admin URLs for privilege escalation. This affects WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of the CMS Commander plugin.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

CMS Commander WordPress Plugin

Versions: Up to and including 2.287

Operating Systems: Any OS running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires plugin to be unconfigured for direct exploitation, but can be combined with other vulnerabilities for broader impact.

📦 What is this software?

Cms Commander by Cmscommander

View all CVEs affecting Cms Commander →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete site compromise through admin privilege escalation, allowing attackers to create administrator accounts, install malicious plugins/themes, and execute arbitrary code.

🟠

Likely Case

Unauthorized access to plugin's remote control features, potentially leading to site defacement, data theft, or installation of backdoors.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if plugin is already configured, but could still be exploited in combination with other vulnerabilities.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: LOW

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires specific conditions but is technically simple once those conditions are met.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2.288 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2927811/cms-commander-client

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins. 3. Find CMS Commander plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 2.288+ from WordPress repository and manually update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Plugin

all

Temporarily disable the CMS Commander plugin until patched

wp plugin deactivate cms-commander-client

Configure Plugin

all

Configure the plugin with proper settings to prevent unconfigured state exploitation

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Remove CMS Commander plugin entirely from the WordPress installation
Implement web application firewall rules to block requests to vulnerable plugin endpoints

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > CMS Commander version. If version is 2.287 or lower, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin get cms-commander-client --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify CMS Commander plugin version is 2.288 or higher in WordPress admin panel.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unauthorized POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=cmsc_add_site
Unexpected changes to plugin configuration files

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests attempting to modify _cmsc_public_key parameter
Suspicious admin URL creation requests

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("cmsc_add_site" OR "_cmsc_public_key") AND status=200

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-3325

CVSS v3 Score: 8.1 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-331

Published: June 20, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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