CVE-2023-28779

Terms Descriptions <= 3.4.4 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via term_search

2023-07-10 00:00
Kindaichi Hiro

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.4.5
Affected Plugin
Terms descriptions
Affected Version
<= 3.4.4
CVSS
6.1Medium
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE-2023-28779
View all Terms descriptions vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-28779 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Terms descriptions WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.4.4. 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 3.4.5; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2023, reported by Kindaichi Hiro.

Vulnerability Overview

The Terms Descriptions plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the term_search name parameter in versions up to, and including, 3.4.4 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. 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 Terms descriptions <= 3.4.4 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 Terms descriptions the fix is 3.4.5: builds <= 3.4.4 are affected, anything from 3.4.5 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.4.5, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Terms descriptions: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Terms descriptions 3.4.5 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-28779https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/d6a44d36-43e6-4785-b2bc-0b4b98d847e7https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28779

Related records

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