CVE-2014-9336 in iTwitter
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the iTwitter plugin 0.04 and earlier for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via the (1) itex_t_twitter_username or (2) itex_t_twitter_userpass parameter in the iTwitter.php page to wp-admin/options-general.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2022
The CVE-2014-9336 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting the iTwitter plugin version 0.04 and earlier within the WordPress ecosystem. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of user authentication parameters during administrative configuration updates, creating a significant security risk for WordPress sites that utilize this particular plugin. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between administrators and the WordPress admin interface, potentially allowing unauthorized actions to be performed under administrative privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation and verification of the iTwitter plugin's administrative parameters within the WordPress wp-admin/options-general.php page. Attackers can manipulate the itex_t_twitter_username or itex_t_twitter_userpass parameters through crafted requests that leverage CSRF techniques. These parameters are processed without proper anti-CSRF token validation or nonce verification, allowing malicious actors to construct requests that appear legitimate to the WordPress admin system. The vulnerability specifically affects the iTwitter.php page which handles Twitter integration settings, making it possible for attackers to modify authentication credentials for Twitter integration without proper authorization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it enables attackers to conduct cross-site scripting attacks through the compromised administrative session. When administrators are tricked into visiting malicious pages or clicking on compromised links, their authenticated sessions can be hijacked to perform unauthorized actions. This creates a dangerous escalation path where attackers can not only modify Twitter integration settings but potentially execute arbitrary code or modify other WordPress configurations through the elevated privileges of the compromised administrator account. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical expertise and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for WordPress installations.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and insufficient session management practices that violate fundamental security principles. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1548.001 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) as attackers can leverage the compromised administrative session to perform further malicious activities. The vulnerability also relates to T1213.002 (Data from Information Repositories) as it allows unauthorized access to administrative configuration data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-9336 require immediate action including updating the iTwitter plugin to a version that properly implements CSRF protection mechanisms. Administrators should ensure all WordPress plugins are kept current with security patches and regularly audit their installed plugins for known vulnerabilities. The implementation of proper nonce validation and anti-CSRF tokens in WordPress plugin development should be enforced, along with comprehensive input sanitization of all administrative parameters. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual administrative configuration changes, and multi-factor authentication should be implemented for administrative accounts to provide additional protection layers against session hijacking attacks. Regular security assessments of WordPress installations should include plugin vulnerability scanning to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by threat actors.