CVE-2023-44235
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass CAPTCHA protection in the WP Captcha WordPress plugin by making excessive authentication attempts without proper rate limiting. It affects all WordPress sites using WP Captcha plugin versions up to 2.0.0, potentially enabling automated attacks on login forms and other protected areas.
💻 Affected Systems
- WP Captcha 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 perform credential stuffing, brute force attacks, or automated form submissions to compromise user accounts, post spam, or conduct other malicious activities that the CAPTCHA was meant to prevent.
Likely Case
Automated bots bypass CAPTCHA protection to spam comment forms, registration pages, or login forms, potentially leading to account takeover or content spam.
If Mitigated
With proper rate limiting and additional security controls, impact is limited to potential spam or minor abuse, but core authentication bypass is prevented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending repeated requests to bypass CAPTCHA validation. Simple automated tools can exploit this.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Versions after 2.0.0
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/wp-captcha/wordpress-wp-captcha-plugin-2-0-0-captcha-bypass-vulnerability
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel
2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
3. Find WP Captcha plugin
4. Click 'Update Now' if update available
5. If no update available, deactivate and remove plugin
6. Consider alternative CAPTCHA solutions
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rules
allConfigure WAF to rate limit requests to CAPTCHA-protected endpoints
Disable WP Captcha Plugin
linuxTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate wp-captcha
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement server-side rate limiting for all form submissions
- Add additional authentication layers (2FA, IP blocking) for sensitive forms
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for WP Captcha version 2.0.0 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin get wp-captcha --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is higher than 2.0.0 or plugin is removed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple rapid POST requests to CAPTCHA-protected endpoints
- Unusual form submission patterns bypassing CAPTCHA
Network Indicators:
- High volume of requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or form submission endpoints
- Patterns of automated requests with similar timing
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" OR uri_path CONTAINS "wp-captcha") AND status=200 | stats count by src_ip, uri_path | where count > 100