CVE-2023-3601 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the Simple Author Box WordPress plugin versions prior to 2.52. The vulnerability arises from improper authorization checks related to user ID verification before outputting user information. Specifically, the plugin fails to verify whether the requesting user has the appropriate permissions to access details about other users. This flaw allows users with as low a privilege level as 'Contributor' to retrieve arbitrary user information that should normally be restricted. The underlying weakness is classified under CWE-639, which involves authorization bypass through user-controlled keys. In this case, the user-controlled key is the user ID parameter that is not properly validated. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L) and requires privileges equivalent to a Contributor role (PR:L). The impact is limited to confidentiality, with no effect on integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no official patches have been linked yet. However, given the widespread use of WordPress and its plugins, this vulnerability could be leveraged to gather sensitive user information such as email addresses, usernames, or other profile data, which could facilitate further social engineering or targeted attacks.

For European organizations using WordPress websites with the Simple Author Box plugin, this vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized disclosure of user information. While the immediate impact is limited to confidentiality, the exposure of user data can lead to privacy violations under regulations such as the GDPR, potentially resulting in legal and financial penalties. Additionally, attackers could use the disclosed information to craft more convincing phishing campaigns or attempt privilege escalation attacks. Organizations with contributors who have access to the WordPress backend but are not fully trusted could inadvertently expose sensitive user data. The vulnerability does not directly affect website availability or integrity, but the indirect consequences of data leakage could harm organizational reputation and trust, especially in sectors handling sensitive or personal data such as finance, healthcare, and government.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should first verify if their WordPress installations use the Simple Author Box plugin and identify the version in use. Immediate steps include upgrading the plugin to version 2.52 or later once available, as this version addresses the authorization bypass issue. Until an official patch is released, organizations should consider restricting Contributor role capabilities or temporarily disabling the plugin to prevent exploitation. Implementing strict role-based access controls and auditing user permissions can reduce the risk of unauthorized data access. Additionally, monitoring web server logs for unusual access patterns to user information endpoints can help detect exploitation attempts. Organizations should also ensure that their WordPress installations and plugins are regularly updated and that security best practices, such as the principle of least privilege and regular security assessments, are followed.