CVE-2023-3392 – This vulnerability in the Read More & Accordion... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-3392?

CVE-2023-3392 has a CVSS score of 7.2 (HIGH). This vulnerability in the Read More & Accordion WordPress plugin allows authenticated administrators to perform PHP Object Injection by exploiting insecure deserialization of user input in plugin settings. Attackers could execute arbitrary code on the server if they gain admin access or chain with other vulnerabilities. Only WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this specific plugin are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in the Read More & Accordion WordPress plugin allows authenticated administrators to perform PHP Object Injection by exploiting insecure deserialization of user input in plugin settings. Attackers could execute arbitrary code on the server if they gain admin access or chain with other vulnerabilities. Only WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this specific plugin are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Read More & Accordion WordPress Plugin

Versions: All versions before 3.2.7

Operating Systems: All operating systems running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires WordPress administrator access or ability to compromise admin credentials.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Full server compromise leading to data theft, malware installation, or complete site takeover through remote code execution.

🟠

Likely Case

Privilege escalation leading to backdoor installation, data exfiltration, or site defacement by attackers with admin access.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper access controls prevent unauthorized admin access and security monitoring detects exploitation attempts.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires admin access and knowledge of suitable PHP gadgets for object injection.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 3.2.7

Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/1e733ccf-8026-4831-9863-e505c2aecba6

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Read More & Accordion' plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or download version 3.2.7 from WordPress repository. 5. Replace plugin files with patched version.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Plugin

all

Temporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched

wp plugin deactivate read-more-accordion

Restrict Admin Access

all

Implement strict access controls and monitoring for admin accounts

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement web application firewall rules to block serialized object payloads
Enable PHP security settings to restrict unserialize() function usage

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check plugin version in WordPress admin panel under Plugins → Installed Plugins

Check Version:

wp plugin get read-more-accordion --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm plugin version is 3.2.7 or higher in WordPress admin

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual admin login attempts
POST requests to plugin settings with serialized data
PHP errors related to unserialize()

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests containing serialized PHP objects in plugin parameter values

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("read-more-accordion" OR "unserialize")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-3392

CVSS v3 Score: 7.2 (HIGH)

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

Published: October 16, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/1e733ccf-8026-4831-9863-e505c2aecba6 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/1e733ccf-8026-4831-9863-e505c2aecba6 Exploit,Third Party Advisory

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