Blackhole for Bad Bots: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE-2022-1165 is a critical-severity authorization bypass through user-controlled key vulnerability in Blackhole for Bad Bots, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists version 3.3.2 as the first without the flaw, so updating Blackhole for Bad Bots to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.67% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 77% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update Blackhole for Bad Bots to 3.3.2 or a later version.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackhole for Bad Bots | Blackhole for Bad Bots | 3.3.2 up to, but not including, 3.3.2 | 3.3.2 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.1 | Critical | NVD |
| CVSS 2.0 | 6.4 | Medium | NVD |
Official description
The Blackhole for Bad Bots WordPress plugin before 3.3.2 uses headers such as CF-CONNECTING-IP, CLIENT-IP etc to determine the IP address of requests hitting the blackhole URL, which allows them to be spoofed. This could result in blocking arbitrary IP addresses, such as legitimate/good search engine crawlers / bots. This could also be abused by competitors to cause damage related to visibility in search engines, can be used to bypass arbitrary blocks caused by this plugin, block any visitor or even the administrator and even more.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- For each and every data access, ensure that the user has sufficient privilege to access the record that is being requested.
- Make sure that the key that is used in the lookup of a specific user's record is not controllable externally by the user or that any tampering can be detected.
- Use encryption in order to make it more difficult to guess other legitimate values of the key or associate a digital signature with the key so that the server can verify that there has been no tampering.
More Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerabilities (CWE-639)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2666486Third Party Advisory
Technical write-ups (may include proof of concept)
- wpscan.com/vulnerability/10d85913-ea8c-4c2e-a32e-fa61cf191710Exploit, Third Party Advisory
Recent Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerabilities
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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