CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-5340NVD status: Modified

Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component

CVE-2023-5340 is a critical-severity improper neutralization of special elements in output used by a downstream component vulnerability in Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 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 2.4.11 as the first without the flaw, so updating Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.54% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 75% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering to 2.4.11 or a later version.
  2. Update Five Star Restaurant Menu to 2.4.11 or a later version.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

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
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
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:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

The Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering WordPress plugin before 2.4.11 unserializes user input via an AJAX action available to unauthenticated users, allowing them to perform PHP Object Injection when a suitable gadget is present on the blog.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component

The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
  • Utilize an appropriate mix of allowlist and denylist parsing to filter control-plane syntax from all input.

More Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component vulnerabilities (CWE-74)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Technical write-ups (may include proof of concept)

Recent Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component vulnerabilities

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