CVE-2020-15092

TimelineJS3 < 3.7.0 - Stored Cross-Site Scripting

2020-07-09 00:00
Zander Work

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.7.0
Affected Plugin
Knight Lab Timeline
Affected Version
< 3.7.0
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE-2020-15092
View all Knight Lab Timeline vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2020-15092 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Knight Lab Timeline WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 3.7.0. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). The issue is fixed in version 3.7.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2020, reported by Zander Work.

Vulnerability Overview

In TimelineJS before version 3.7.0, some user data renders as HTML. An attacker could implement an XSS exploit with maliciously crafted content in a number of data fields. This risk is present whether the source data for the timeline is stored on Google Sheets or in a JSON configuration file. Most TimelineJS users configure their timeline with a Google Sheets document. Those users are exposed to this vulnerability if they grant write access to the document to a malicious inside attacker, if the access of a trusted user is compromised, or if they grant public write access to the document. Some TimelineJS users configure their timeline with a JSON document. Those users are exposed to this vulnerability if they grant write access to the document to a malicious inside attacker, if the access of a trusted user is compromised, or if write access to the system hosting that document is otherwise compromised. Version 3.7.0 of TimelineJS addresses this in two ways. For content which is intended to support limited HTML markup for styling and linking, that content is "sanitized" before being added to the DOM. For content intended for simple text display, all markup is stripped. Very few users of TimelineJS actually install the TimelineJS code on their server. Most users publish a timeline using a URL hosted on systems we control. The fix for this issue is published to our system such that **those users will automatically begin using the new code**. The only exception would be users who have deliberately edited the embed URL to "pin" their timeline to an earlier version of the code. Some users of TimelineJS use it as a part of a wordpress plugin (knight-lab-timelinejs). Version 3.7.0.0 of that plugin and newer integrate the updated code. Users are encouraged to update the plugin rather than manually update the embedded version of TimelineJS.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

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

Knight Lab Timeline < 3.7.0 carries this weakness at sanitized, and reaching it 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 Knight Lab Timeline the fix is 3.7.0: builds < 3.7.0 are affected, anything from 3.7.0 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.7.0, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Knight Lab Timeline: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Knight Lab Timeline 3.7.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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