Overview
The vulnerability CVE-2023-6064 relates to the PayHere Payment Gateway WordPress plugin that, prior to version 2.2.12, inadvertently exposes sensitive transaction logs to the public. This flaw can be exploited by potential attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, leading to system compromise and data leakage. Given the widespread use of the PayHere plugin, this vulnerability could have severe implications for businesses and individuals if left unaddressed.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2023-6064
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.5)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
PayHere Payment Gateway WordPress Plugin | versions prior to 2.2.12
How the Exploit Works
The exploit takes advantage of publicly accessible log files that are automatically created by the PayHere Payment Gateway WordPress plugin. These logs contain sensitive information about transactions. An attacker can remotely access these logs without requiring any special privileges or user interaction. By utilizing this loophole, an attacker can collect sensitive data, which could potentially be used for malicious activities such as identity theft, fraud, or unauthorized system access.
Conceptual Example Code
This is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability. The attacker makes a GET request to the file hosting the logs:
GET /wp-content/plugins/payhere-gateway/logs/transaction.log HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.comThe server would then respond with the log file containing sensitive transaction information.
Mitigation
Users of the PayHere Payment Gateway WordPress Plugin are recommended to update the plugin to version 2.2.12 or later, which contains a patch for this vulnerability. Temporary mitigation can also be achieved by utilizing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to monitor and block suspicious network traffic.
