CVE-2023-38514
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons WordPress plugin that allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. It affects all WordPress sites running the plugin from any version through 3.5.7, potentially allowing unauthorized access to functionality.
💻 Affected Systems
- Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons (WordPress plugin)
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could modify social sharing settings, inject malicious content, or potentially escalate privileges to compromise the WordPress site.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users could change social media sharing configurations, alter button placements, or modify sharing behavior without proper permissions.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls, only authorized administrators could modify plugin settings, limiting impact to configuration changes.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires some level of access but bypasses authorization checks. No public exploit code identified.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.5.8 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel
2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Find 'Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons'
4. Click 'Update Now' if available
5. If no update appears, manually download version 3.5.8+ from WordPress.org
6. Deactivate, delete old version, upload new version, activate
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
allDisable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate social-share-icons-social-share-buttons
Access Restriction via .htaccess
linuxRestrict access to plugin admin pages
# Add to .htaccess in WordPress root:
<FilesMatch "\.(php)$">
Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all
</FilesMatch>
# Then allow specific admin paths
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Deactivate the Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons plugin immediately
- Implement strict access controls and monitor for unauthorized configuration changes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons → Version. If version is 3.5.7 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get social-share-icons-social-share-buttons --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 3.5.8 or later in WordPress admin panel. Test authorization by attempting to access plugin settings with non-admin accounts.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with plugin-specific actions
- Non-admin users accessing social sharing configuration pages
- Unexpected changes to social media sharing settings
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic to plugin-specific admin endpoints from non-admin IPs
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" AND (action="*social*" OR plugin="social-share*")) AND user_role!="administrator"