CVE-2021-24682

Cool Tag Cloud <= 2.25 - Contributor+ Stored Cross-Site Scripting

2021-09-28 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.26
Affected Plugin: Cool Tag Cloud
Affected Version: <= 2.25
CVSS: 6.4Medium
Weakness type: CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE: CVE-2021-24682

At a glance

CVE-2021-24682 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Cool Tag Cloud WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.25. It carries a CVSS score of 6.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 2.26; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2021, reported by apple502j.

Vulnerability Overview

The Cool Tag Cloud WordPress plugin before 2.26 does not escape the style attribute of the cool_tag_cloud shortcode, which could allow users with a role as low as Contributor to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Reaching this weakness in Cool Tag Cloud <= 2.25 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Cross-site scripting happens when input from a request is written into a page without being escaped for the context it lands in, so the browser parses attacker-supplied text as markup or script.

Injected script runs with the privileges of whoever views the affected page, which is how these flaws turn into administrator session theft, silent account creation or persistent backdoors in page content. For Cool Tag Cloud the fix is 2.26: builds <= 2.25 are affected, anything from 2.26 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.26, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Cool Tag Cloud: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Cool Tag Cloud 2.26 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24682 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/cbd5dc98-ac5b-4548-9f98-faa91f5b1e2b https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24682

Related records

Same weakness class

CVSS Vector

6.4

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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