WP Statistics <= 13.0.9 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

2021-08-30 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 13.1
Affected Plugin: WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative
Affected Version: <= 13.0.9
CVSS: 6.1Medium
Weakness type: CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE: CVE pending

View all WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the WP Statistics WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 13.0.9. 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 13.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2021, reported by R3N0.

Vulnerability Overview

The WP Statistic plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting in versions up to, and including, 13.0.9 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 WP Statistics <= 13.0.9 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 WP Statistics the fix is 13.1: builds <= 13.0.9 are affected, anything from 13.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 13.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to WP Statistics: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: WP Statistics 13.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ba88a1f5-9ebf-4899-81b3-e65587ae2fe2

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative

CVSS Vector

6.1

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionRequired
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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