CVE-2023-6164 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

An overview of the CVE-2023-6164 vulnerability affecting the MainWP Dashboard plugin for WordPress.

Understanding CVE-2023-6164

This section delves into the details of CVE-2023-6164 highlighting its description, impact, technical aspects, and mitigation strategies.

What is CVE-2023-6164?

CVE-2023-6164 is a vulnerability found in the MainWP Dashboard plugin for WordPress, allowing authenticated attackers with administrator-level access to inject arbitrary CSS values into site tags through the 'newColor' parameter. This security flaw arises due to insufficient input sanitization in plugin versions up to and including 4.5.1.2.

The Impact of CVE-2023-6164

The impact of CVE-2023-6164 is rated as LOW with a base severity score of 2.2 in CVSS v3.1. The vulnerability can be exploited by attackers with elevated privileges, enabling them to manipulate the appearance and behavior of affected websites through CSS injection.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-6164

This section provides a deeper insight into the technical aspects of the CVE-2023-6164 vulnerability, including its description, affected systems, and exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability in the MainWP Dashboard plugin for WordPress allows attackers to perform CSS injection via the 'newColor' parameter, potentially leading to unauthorized style changes on affected websites.

Affected Systems and Versions

The MainWP Dashboard plugin versions up to and including 4.5.1.2 are affected by this vulnerability, making them susceptible to CSS injection attacks when insufficient input sanitization is present.

Exploitation Mechanism

Authenticated attackers with administrator-level access can exploit CVE-2023-6164 to inject malicious CSS values into site tags, altering the visual presentation of the website's content.

Mitigation and Prevention

Here, we discuss the steps that users and administrators can take to mitigate the risks posed by CVE-2023-6164 and prevent potential exploitation.

Immediate Steps to Take

Users are advised to update the MainWP Dashboard plugin to version 4.5.1.3 or higher, which addresses the vulnerability and includes necessary security patches to prevent CSS injection attacks.

Long-Term Security Practices

Practicing secure coding habits, implementing regular security audits, and monitoring for suspicious activity can help mitigate the risks associated with plugin vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-6164.

Patching and Updates

Regularly updating plugins, maintaining strong authentication mechanisms, and limiting user privileges can minimize the likelihood of successful exploitation of vulnerabilities like the one identified in the MainWP Dashboard plugin for WordPress.