GS Books Showcase <= 1.3.0 - Authenticator (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.3.1
- Affected Version
<= 1.3.0- CVSS
- 6.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
- CVE
CVE-2023-0541
At a glance
CVE-2023-0541 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the GS Books Showcase WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.3.0. It carries a CVSS score of 6.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 1.3.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2023, reported by István Márton.
Vulnerability Overview
The GS Books Showcase plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's shortcode(s) in versions up to, and including, 1.3.0 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor level and above permissions to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page
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 GS Books Showcase <= 1.3.0 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 GS Books Showcase the fix is 1.3.1: builds <= 1.3.0 are affected, anything from 1.3.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.3.1, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to GS Books Showcase: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: GS Books Showcase 1.3.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
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