CVE-2013-5977 in Cart66 Lite plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Cart66Product.php in the Cart66 Lite plugin before 1.5.1.15 for WordPress allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) create or modify products or conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via the (2) Product name or (3) Price description field in a product save action via a request to wp-admin/admin.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2024
The CVE-2013-5977 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Cart66 Lite plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting versions prior to 1.5.1.15. This vulnerability exists in the Cart66Product.php file and demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the plugin's authentication and authorization mechanisms. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrators, thereby bypassing the standard security controls that protect WordPress admin interfaces. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the core administrative functionality level, where unauthorized modifications can have severe consequences for e-commerce operations and site integrity.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens in the product management forms within the WordPress admin area. When administrators access the product creation or modification interfaces through wp-admin/admin.php, the plugin fails to validate that requests originate from authenticated users with legitimate intentions. The vulnerability manifests specifically during product save actions where the attacker can manipulate three key fields: product name, price description, and potentially other product attributes. This flaw creates a pathway for attackers to execute unauthorized administrative actions without requiring valid credentials, as the system accepts requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to perform both administrative modifications and cross-site scripting attacks simultaneously. When attackers exploit this vulnerability, they can create malicious products with embedded XSS payloads in the product name or price description fields, which then execute when other users view these products. This dual nature of the vulnerability transforms a simple CSRF attack into a more sophisticated vector capable of causing widespread damage through persistent XSS infections. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it affects the administrative interface where product data is managed, potentially allowing attackers to modify product prices, descriptions, or even inject malicious code that could compromise other users' sessions or steal sensitive data.
The security implications of CVE-2013-5977 align with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1548.002 for bypassing application security controls. Organizations using vulnerable versions of the Cart66 Lite plugin face significant risks including unauthorized product modifications, potential data breaches, and the ability to establish persistent backdoors through XSS payloads. The vulnerability represents a failure in the principle of least privilege and demonstrates inadequate input validation and output encoding practices that are fundamental to secure web application development. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to compromise entire WordPress installations by manipulating product data and potentially using the XSS capabilities to escalate privileges or steal session cookies from other administrators.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the Cart66 Lite plugin to version 1.5.1.15 or later, which incorporates proper CSRF token validation and enhanced input sanitization. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including regular security audits of WordPress plugins, implementation of Content Security Policies to prevent XSS execution, and monitoring of administrative actions for suspicious patterns. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper session management and authentication token validation in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive administrative functions. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of their WordPress installations to identify similar CSRF vulnerabilities in other plugins and themes, as this type of flaw is common in legacy applications that lack modern security controls and proper validation mechanisms.