CVE-2012-4768

Download Monitor <= 3.3.5.8 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

2012-09-06 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 3.3.5.9
Affected Plugin: Download Monitor
Affected Version: <= 3.3.5.8
CVSS: 6.1Medium
Weakness type: CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE: CVE-2012-4768

View all Download Monitor vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2012-4768 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Download Monitor WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.3.5.8. It carries a CVSS score of 6.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 3.3.5.9; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2012, reported by Chris Cooper.

Vulnerability Overview

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Download Monitor plugin before 3.3.5.9 for WordPress allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the dlsearch parameter to the default URI.

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 privileges on the target site.

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

Reaching this weakness in Download Monitor <= 3.3.5.8 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 Monitor the fix is 3.3.5.9: builds <= 3.3.5.8 are affected, anything from 3.3.5.9 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.3.5.9, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Download Monitor: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Download Monitor 3.3.5.9 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-4768 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e5df79e6-649e-4213-b2ff-bc994b372224 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-4768

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in Download Monitor

CVSS Vector

6.1

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionRequired
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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