CVE-2023-38393
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Ninja Forms WordPress plugin that allows subscribers to perform unauthorized actions. It affects all Ninja Forms installations from unspecified versions through 3.6.25. The vulnerability enables privilege escalation where authenticated users with subscriber-level access can perform actions intended for higher-privileged users.
💻 Affected Systems
- Ninja Forms WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Ninja Forms by Ninjaforms
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Subscriber-level users could gain administrative privileges, modify forms, access form submissions containing sensitive data, or potentially execute arbitrary code through plugin functionality.
Likely Case
Subscribers accessing and modifying form configurations, viewing form submissions containing PII or other sensitive data, and performing limited administrative actions within the plugin.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and network segmentation, impact would be limited to the WordPress instance only, preventing lateral movement to other systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access with subscriber privileges. The vulnerability is in access control logic, making exploitation straightforward once authenticated.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.6.26 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/ninja-forms/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Ninja Forms and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify update to version 3.6.26 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Ninja Forms Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patching is possible
wp plugin deactivate ninja-forms
Restrict Subscriber Access
allRemove subscriber roles from all users or restrict subscriber registration
wp user list --role=subscriber --field=ID | xargs wp user set-role {ID} none
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate WordPress instance from sensitive systems
- Enable detailed logging of user actions and monitor for unauthorized plugin modifications
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Ninja Forms version in WordPress admin under Plugins → Installed Plugins or use: wp plugin get ninja-forms --field=versionCheck Version:
wp plugin get ninja-forms --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Ninja Forms version is 3.6.26 or higher using: wp plugin get ninja-forms --field=version📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized plugin modifications by subscriber users
- Form configuration changes from non-admin accounts
- Access to form submission data by low-privilege users
Network Indicators:
- Increased API calls to Ninja Forms endpoints from subscriber accounts
- Unusual form submission access patterns
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (event="plugin_modified" OR event="form_access") AND user_role="subscriber"🔗 References
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/ninja-forms/wordpress-ninja-forms-plugin-3-6-25-subscriber-broken-access-control-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/ninja-forms/wordpress-ninja-forms-plugin-3-6-25-subscriber-broken-access-control-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
