Newsletter <= 6.5.3 - CSV Injection

2020-03-16 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 6.5.4
Affected Plugin: Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress
Affected Version: <= 6.5.3
CVSS: 5.5Medium
Weakness type: CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation
CVE: CVE pending

View all Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Input Validation vulnerability in the Newsletter WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 6.5.3. It carries a CVSS score of 5.5 (reachable over the network). The issue is fixed in version 6.5.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2020, reported by Vishnupriya Ilango.

Vulnerability Overview

The Newsletter plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to CSV Injection in versions up to, and including, 6.5.3 by the use of Microsoft Excel DDE function, or to leak data via maliciously injected hyperlinks. This allows non-privileged attackers to embed untrusted input into exported CSV files, which can result in code execution when these files are downloaded and opened on a local system with a vulnerable configuration.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network.

CWE-20: Improper Input Validation

Reaching this weakness in Newsletter <= 6.5.3 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper input validation means the application accepts input without confirming it has the form, type or range the code downstream assumes.

The concrete impact depends on where the unvalidated value lands, which is why records in this class range from cosmetic bugs to full compromise. For Newsletter the fix is 6.5.4: builds <= 6.5.3 are affected, anything from 6.5.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 6.5.4, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Newsletter: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Newsletter 6.5.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e91e6101-bd30-4cf1-9a39-23218c3bff6f

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress

CVSS Vector

5.5

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionRequired
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityLow

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