CVE-2023-40335 – This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-40335?

CVE-2023-40335 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (HIGH). This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Cleverwise Daily Quotes WordPress plugin that leads to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions, which then inject persistent scripts affecting all users. WordPress sites using this plugin from any version up to 3.2 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Cleverwise Daily Quotes WordPress plugin that leads to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions, which then inject persistent scripts affecting all users. WordPress sites using this plugin from any version up to 3.2 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Cleverwise Daily Quotes WordPress Plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 3.2

Operating Systems: Any OS running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires the plugin to be installed and activated on a WordPress site. The vulnerability requires an authenticated administrator to be tricked into performing an action.

📦 What is this software?

Cleverwise Daily Quotes by Cyberws

View all CVEs affecting Cleverwise Daily Quotes →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers could hijack administrator sessions, inject malicious JavaScript that steals credentials or redirects users to phishing sites, and potentially gain full control of the WordPress site.

🟠

Likely Case

Attackers inject malicious scripts that steal user session cookies or credentials, perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, and deface the site with malicious content.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper CSRF tokens and input validation, the attack would fail at the initial CSRF stage, preventing any XSS payload from being stored.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link. The CSRF vulnerability enables the XSS payload to be stored persistently.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Version 3.3 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/cleverwise-daily-quotes/wordpress-cleverwise-daily-quotes-plugin-3-2-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability?_s_id=cve

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Cleverwise Daily Quotes' and click 'Update Now' if available. 4. If no update appears, manually download version 3.3+ from WordPress.org and replace the plugin files via FTP/SFTP.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Temporary Plugin Deactivation

linux

Disable the vulnerable plugin until patched to prevent exploitation.

wp plugin deactivate cleverwise-daily-quotes

Implement CSRF Protection

all

Add custom CSRF tokens to plugin forms if you cannot update immediately.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable the Cleverwise Daily Quotes plugin completely.
Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with CSRF and XSS protection rules.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'Cleverwise Daily Quotes' version 3.2 or lower.

Check Version:

wp plugin get cleverwise-daily-quotes --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify the plugin version is 3.3 or higher in WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific endpoints from unexpected referrers.
JavaScript injection patterns in plugin-related database entries or log files.

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests with suspicious parameters targeting the plugin's admin endpoints.
Outbound connections to malicious domains from the WordPress site.

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("cleverwise" OR "daily-quotes") AND (POST OR "admin-ajax")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-40335

CVSS v3 Score: 7.1 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-352

Published: November 13, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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