CVE-2021-24969

WordPress Download Manager <= 3.2.21 - Cross-Site Scripting

2021-11-29 00:00
Krzysztof Zając

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.2.22
Affected Plugin
Download Manager
Affected Version
< 3.2.22
CVSS
6.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE-2021-24969
View all Download Manager vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2021-24969 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Download Manager WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 3.2.22. It carries a CVSS score of 6.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 3.2.22; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2021, reported by Krzysztof Zając.

Vulnerability Overview

The WordPress Download Manager WordPress plugin before 3.2.22 does not sanitise and escape Template data before outputting it in various pages (such as admin dashboard and frontend). Due to the lack of authorisation and CSRF checks in the wpdm_save_template AJAX action, any authenticated users such as subscriber is able to call it and perform 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 Download Manager < 3.2.22 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 Download Manager the fix is 3.2.22: builds < 3.2.22 are affected, anything from 3.2.22 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.2.22, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Download Manager: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Download Manager 3.2.22 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24969https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a5a03e67-f36f-441a-a2fd-a545efa06c00https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24969

Related records

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