CVE-2014-4523 in Easy Career Openings Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Easy Career Openings plugin 0.4 and earlier for WordPress allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified parameters.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/17/2024
The CVE-2014-4523 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Easy Career Openings WordPress plugin version 0.4 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of user-supplied input parameters, creating an avenue for remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of affected websites. The vulnerability's severity stems from its ability to bypass standard security measures that typically protect against such attacks, making it particularly dangerous for WordPress installations that rely on this plugin for career listing functionality.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through improper input validation and output encoding within the plugin's codebase. When users interact with career openings pages or related functionality, the plugin fails to adequately sanitize or escape user-provided parameters before rendering them in web pages. This allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute in the browsers of unsuspecting visitors. The unspecified nature of the vulnerable parameters suggests that multiple entry points within the plugin may be susceptible to this type of attack, increasing the attack surface and making remediation more complex. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-site Scripting flaws where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without proper validation or encoding.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-4523 extends beyond simple script injection, potentially enabling attackers to perform session hijacking, deface websites, steal sensitive information from authenticated users, or redirect visitors to malicious sites. For WordPress administrators, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to their site's integrity and user security, particularly in environments where the plugin is widely used for job postings and career-related content. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to complete compromise of the affected WordPress installation, especially when combined with other vulnerabilities or when attackers target high-profile sites that rely on the plugin for business-critical functionality. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with T1059.008 (Scripting) and T1566 (Phishing) techniques, as attackers can leverage it to execute malicious code and establish persistent access through crafted web content.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-4523 require immediate action including updating to the latest version of the Easy Career Openings plugin where the vulnerability has been patched. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as input validation at multiple layers, output encoding for all dynamic content, and regular security audits of installed plugins. The WordPress core team and security researchers have documented that this vulnerability was resolved in subsequent versions of the plugin through proper parameter sanitization and enhanced input validation mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional defense-in-depth measures against similar vulnerabilities in the future. Regular monitoring of plugin repositories and security advisories remains essential for maintaining WordPress site security and preventing exploitation of known vulnerabilities.