CVE-2017-18561

Embed Images in Comments < 0.6 - Cross-Site Scripting

2017-08-16 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 0.6
Affected Plugin: Embed Images in Comments
Affected Version: < 0.6
CVSS: 6.1Medium
Weakness type: CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE: CVE-2017-18561

View all Embed Images in Comments vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2017-18561 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Embed Images in Comments WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 0.6. 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 0.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2017, reported by Gennady Kovshenin.

Vulnerability Overview

The embed-comment-images plugin before 0.6 for WordPress has XSS.

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 Embed Images in Comments < 0.6 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 Embed Images in Comments the fix is 0.6: builds < 0.6 are affected, anything from 0.6 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 0.6, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Embed Images in Comments: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Embed Images in Comments 0.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-18561 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/c7088e84-a138-452b-bc4d-8ca9427ca8ae https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-18561

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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