CVE-2023-51679
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthorized users to access administrative functions in the BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce due to missing authorization checks. It affects all WordPress sites using the plugin from any version up to 3.0.2. Attackers could potentially modify plugin settings or access sensitive SMS functionality.
💻 Affected Systems
- BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could modify SMS gateway settings, intercept SMS messages, send unauthorized SMS messages incurring costs, or disrupt SMS functionality for the entire WooCommerce store.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users accessing administrative plugin settings, potentially changing SMS configurations or viewing sensitive SMS-related data.
If Mitigated
With proper authorization controls, only authenticated administrators can access plugin functions, limiting impact to authorized users only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires some level of access to the WordPress site, but authorization bypass makes it accessible to users who shouldn't have access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.0.3 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. Alternatively, download version 3.0.3+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate woosms-sms-module-for-woocommerce
Restrict Access via .htaccess
linuxBlock access to plugin admin endpoints
# Add to .htaccess in WordPress root:
<FilesMatch "bulkgate|woosms">
Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all
</FilesMatch>
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the BulkGate SMS plugin completely until patching is possible
- Implement strict network access controls to limit who can access WordPress admin areas
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins for 'BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce' version 3.0.2 or lowerCheck Version:
wp plugin get woosms-sms-module-for-woocommerce --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 3.0.3 or higher in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts to /wp-admin/admin.php?page=woosms* endpoints
- Multiple failed authorization attempts followed by successful access to plugin admin functions
Network Indicators:
- Unusual HTTP requests to plugin-specific admin endpoints from unauthorized IPs
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin.php" AND uri_query="page=woosms*") AND user_role!="administrator"🔗 References
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/woosms-sms-module-for-woocommerce/wordpress-bulkgate-sms-plugin-for-woocommerce-plugin-3-0-2-broken-access-control-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/woosms-sms-module-for-woocommerce/wordpress-bulkgate-sms-plugin-for-woocommerce-plugin-3-0-2-broken-access-control-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
