CVE-2014-9341 in yURL ReTwitt
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the yURL ReTwitt plugin 1.4 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) yurl_login or (2) yurl_anchor parameter in the yurl page to wp-admin/options-general.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2018
The CVE-2014-9341 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the yURL ReTwitt WordPress plugin version 1.4 and earlier. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of user authentication tokens within the WordPress administrative interface, creating a significant security risk for WordPress sites that utilize this particular plugin. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions through carefully crafted malicious requests that exploit the plugin's insecure parameter handling mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and sanitize input parameters within the WordPress admin environment. Attackers can exploit the yurl_login and yurl_anchor parameters present in the yurl page URL path that leads to wp-admin/options-general.php. These parameters lack proper CSRF token verification, allowing malicious actors to construct requests that appear legitimate to the WordPress administrative system. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication context where administrators are logged in, making it particularly dangerous as it operates within the privileged administrative scope.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple CSRF attacks, as it enables attackers to execute cross-site scripting payloads against authenticated administrators. When an administrator visits a malicious page that triggers the crafted request, the system processes the request with the administrator's authentication context, potentially allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into the administrative interface. This creates a dangerous escalation path where attackers can manipulate the WordPress configuration, install malicious plugins, modify content, or even take complete control of the administrative interface. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it targets the wp-admin/options-general.php page, which is a critical administrative endpoint where various configuration settings are managed.
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 web security principles. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, as attackers can leverage the administrative session to perform actions that would normally require direct administrative access. The attack vector specifically relates to T1566.001 - Phishing: Credential Harvesting and T1078 - Valid Accounts, as it exploits legitimate administrative sessions to execute malicious code.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability include immediate upgrading of the yURL ReTwitt plugin to version 1.5 or later, where the CSRF protection mechanisms have been properly implemented. WordPress administrators should also implement additional defensive measures such as enabling the WordPress built-in nonce verification for administrative actions, using security plugins that monitor for CSRF attempts, and ensuring that all plugins are regularly updated from trusted sources. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional detection and prevention capabilities, while monitoring for suspicious requests to administrative endpoints can help identify exploitation attempts. Organizations should also implement proper access controls and limit administrative privileges to reduce the potential impact of successful CSRF attacks.