CVE-2013-4240 in hms-testimonials
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the HMS Testimonials plugin before 2.0.11 for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add new testimonials via the hms-testimonials-addnew page, (2) add new groups via the hms-testimonials-addnewgroup page, (3) change default settings via the hms-testimonials-settings page, (4) change advanced settings via the hms-testimonials-settings-advanced page, (5) change custom fields settings via the hms-testimonials-settings-fields page, or (6) change template settings via the hms-testimonials-templates-new page to wp-admin/admin.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2026
The CVE-2013-4240 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery issue affecting the HMS Testimonials WordPress plugin version 2.0.10 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within multiple administrative endpoints of the plugin, creating a significant security risk for WordPress sites that utilize this testimonials management tool. The flaw allows remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated administrators and the WordPress admin interface, potentially enabling unauthorized actions that could compromise the entire website's integrity and security posture.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of HTTP requests that target specific administrative pages within the plugin's admin interface. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in other parts of the website to submit forged requests to the vulnerable endpoints including hms-testimonials-addnew, hms-testimonials-addnewgroup, hms-testimonials-settings, hms-testimonials-settings-advanced, hms-testimonials-settings-fields, and hms-testimonials-templates-new. These pages are designed to be accessed only by authenticated administrators but lack proper anti-CSRF token validation, allowing attackers to perform administrative actions without legitimate authentication. The vulnerability specifically affects requests that are processed through wp-admin/admin.php, making it particularly dangerous as it operates within the core WordPress administrative framework.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to potentially enable complete administrative takeover of affected WordPress sites. An attacker who successfully exploits any of these CSRF vectors could add malicious testimonials to display on the website, create new testimonial groups that might contain harmful content, modify default settings to redirect users to malicious sites, adjust advanced configuration options that could disable security features, alter custom field settings to collect user data, or modify template settings to inject malicious code into the website's frontend. These actions could result in defacement, data exfiltration, credential theft, or the installation of backdoors that persist even after the initial vulnerability is patched.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and proper authentication mechanisms. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1078 Valid Accounts and T1548 Abuse of Cloud Resources, as it allows attackers to leverage legitimate administrative credentials for unauthorized actions. The vulnerability also relates to T1190 Exploitation of Remote Services since it exploits a service running on the web server that accepts authenticated requests. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including updating to version 2.0.11 or later of the HMS Testimonials plugin, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and conducting comprehensive security audits of all installed WordPress plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires immediate patching of the HMS Testimonials plugin to version 2.0.11 or higher, which includes the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. Security administrators should also implement additional layers of protection such as implementing Content Security Policy headers, using nonce-based validation for all administrative requests, and monitoring administrative access logs for suspicious activities. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attack patterns, particularly those targeting WordPress administrative interfaces. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning of WordPress installations should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues across the entire web application portfolio, ensuring that all plugins and themes follow proper security practices including CSRF protection mechanisms.