Related Posts for WordPress <= 3.0.0 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Contributor+) Sensitive Information Exposure via 'rp4wp_create_link' Parameter
Impact
The Related Posts for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 3.0.0 via the 'rp4wp_create_link' parameter of the hidden 'rp4wp_link_related' admin page. The handle_create_link() handler verifies the nonce and that the current user can edit the parent post, but never checks that the attacker-supplied child post ID is one the user is allowed to read; LinkRepository::insert() stores the arbitrary child ID without validation, and ManageLinks::render() later calls LinkRepository::get_children() in its no-extra-args fast…
Source excerpt · WordfenceAffected packages
Affected products
Vendor version evidence. Product records are separate from automatic dependency matching.
barrykooij · Related Posts for WordPress
Other versions: unaffected
| Version / range | Source status |
|---|---|
| 0 through 3.0.0 (inclusive) | affected |
Original source description
The Related Posts for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 3.0.0 via the 'rp4wp_create_link' parameter of the hidden 'rp4wp_link_related' admin page. The handle_create_link() handler verifies the nonce and that the current user can edit the parent post, but never checks that the attacker-supplied child post ID is one the user is allowed to read; LinkRepository::insert() stores the arbitrary child ID without validation, and ManageLinks::render() later calls LinkRepository::get_children() in its no-extra-args fast path, which falls through to array_map('get_post', $child_ids) — bypassing read_private_posts/read_post capability checks — and then echoes esc_html($child->post_title) in the parent's editor meta box. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to read the titles of arbitrary non-public posts (drafts, pending, private, future, trashed) authored by higher-privileged users by linking those post IDs to a draft they own and then reading the resulting meta box.
References
- Security advisory www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3ab9af6a-bfe7-4da5-8e60-b20f38cbab36
- Source reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Admin/LinkScreen/Page.php
- Source reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Links/LinkRepository.php
- Source reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Admin/MetaBox/ManageLinks.php
- Source reference plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/related-posts-for-wp/tags/3.0.0/src/Links/LinkRepository.php
- Patch plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset
- Patch plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3757484/related-posts-for-wp/trunk/src/Admin/LinkScreen/Page.php