CVE-2024-23500 – This Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnera... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-23500?

CVE-2024-23500 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (HIGH). This Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Kadence WP Gutenberg Blocks allows attackers to make unauthorized requests from the WordPress server to internal or external systems. It affects WordPress sites using the Kadence Blocks plugin from any version up to 3.2.19.

📋 TL;DR

This Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Kadence WP Gutenberg Blocks allows attackers to make unauthorized requests from the WordPress server to internal or external systems. It affects WordPress sites using the Kadence Blocks plugin from any version up to 3.2.19.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Kadence WP Gutenberg Blocks (Kadence Blocks)

Versions: All versions up to and including 3.2.19

Operating Systems: Any OS running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects WordPress installations with the Kadence Blocks plugin installed and activated.

📦 What is this software?

Gutenberg Blocks With Ai by Kadencewp

View all CVEs affecting Gutenberg Blocks With Ai →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers could access internal services, exfiltrate sensitive data, perform port scanning, or chain with other vulnerabilities to achieve remote code execution.

🟠

Likely Case

Information disclosure from internal services, scanning of internal networks, or making requests to cloud metadata services to obtain credentials.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if network segmentation restricts internal access and external requests are filtered.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - WordPress sites are typically internet-facing, making them directly accessible to attackers.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal WordPress installations could still be exploited by authenticated users or through other attack vectors.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

SSRF vulnerabilities typically require some level of user interaction or specific plugin functionality to trigger.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 3.2.20 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/kadence-blocks/wordpress-kadence-blocks-plugin-3-2-19-server-side-request-forgery-ssrf-vulnerability

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Kadence Blocks' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Alternatively, download version 3.2.20+ from WordPress.org and manually update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable functionality

all

Identify and disable the specific Kadence Blocks feature causing the SSRF if not essential

Network restrictions

linux

Implement outbound firewall rules to restrict WordPress server from accessing internal services

iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable Kadence Blocks plugin completely until patched
Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block SSRF patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Kadence Blocks version. If version is 3.2.19 or lower, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin list --name=kadence-blocks --field=version (if WP-CLI installed)

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, verify Kadence Blocks version shows 3.2.20 or higher in WordPress plugins list.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual outbound HTTP requests from WordPress server
Requests to internal IP addresses or localhost
Multiple rapid requests to different endpoints

Network Indicators:

WordPress server making unexpected outbound connections
Requests to cloud metadata services (169.254.169.254)
Port scanning patterns from WordPress server

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.logs" AND (url CONTAINS "localhost" OR url CONTAINS "127.0.0.1" OR url CONTAINS "169.254.169.254" OR url CONTAINS "internal")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-23500

CVSS v3 Score: 7.7 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-918

Published: March 28, 2024

Last Updated: February 7, 2025

🔗 References

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