New User Approve <= 2.4 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

2022-05-30 00:00
WPScanTeam

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.4.1
Affected Plugin
New User Approve
Affected Version
<= 2.4
CVSS
6.1Medium
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE pending
View all New User Approve vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the New User Approve WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.4. 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 2.4.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2022, reported by WPScanTeam.

Vulnerability Overview

The New User Approve plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting due to the use of add_query_arg without appropriate escaping on the URL in versions up to, and including, 2.4 . This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a link.

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 New User Approve <= 2.4 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 New User Approve the fix is 2.4.1: builds <= 2.4 are affected, anything from 2.4.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.4.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to New User Approve: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: New User Approve 2.4.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/b8e3f779-9d25-4525-a827-8ce743bd889e

Related records

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