CVE-2013-3491 in Sharebar
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Sharebar plugin 1.2.5 for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add or (2) modify buttons, or (3) insert cross-site scripting (XSS) sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/06/2017
The CVE-2013-3491 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness in the Sharebar plugin version 1.2.5 for WordPress platforms. This vulnerability specifically targets the authentication mechanisms of administrative users, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations that utilize this particular plugin. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the web application and its authenticated users, potentially leading to unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and authenticate requests originating from administrative interfaces. When administrators interact with the Sharebar plugin's functionality, the system does not adequately verify that requests are legitimate and originate from authorized sources. This validation gap allows attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators, thereby bypassing the normal authentication checks. The vulnerability affects three distinct operational areas: adding new buttons to the sharebar, modifying existing button configurations, and inserting cross-site scripting sequences that can persist and execute within the administrator's browser context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited repeatedly. Attackers can leverage this weakness to inject malicious code into the WordPress administration interface, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The ability to insert XSS sequences through this CSRF vulnerability compounds the risk, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the administrator's browser, potentially stealing session cookies, modifying content, or redirecting users to malicious sites. This dual nature of the vulnerability creates a particularly dangerous attack surface that combines both administrative privilege abuse and client-side exploitation techniques.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and authentication mechanisms that violate fundamental web security principles. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through web application exploitation, with potential lateral movement opportunities once initial access is achieved. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including plugin updates to versions that address the CSRF validation issues, implementation of anti-CSRF tokens in all administrative forms, and regular security audits of installed WordPress plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the importance of comprehensive security testing for WordPress plugins, particularly those with administrative functionality. Many WordPress plugins fail to implement proper CSRF protection mechanisms, creating widespread exposure across the WordPress ecosystem. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical need for developers to follow established security best practices and for administrators to maintain updated plugin repositories. The ease with which attackers can exploit such vulnerabilities underscores the necessity of implementing multiple layers of defense including web application firewalls, regular security assessments, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts.