CVE-2014-9437 in Sliding Social Icons
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Sliding Social Icons plugin 1.61 for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) change plugin settings via unspecified vectors or (2) conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via the sc_social_slider_margin parameter in a wpbs_save_settings action in the wpbs_panel page to wp-admin/admin.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2022
The CVE-2014-9437 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery issue within the Sliding Social Icons WordPress plugin version 1.61, posing significant risks to WordPress site administrators and their security postures. This vulnerability stems from insufficient CSRF protection mechanisms within the plugin's administrative interfaces, creating exploitable pathways for remote attackers to manipulate administrative functions without proper authorization. The flaw specifically affects the wp-admin/admin.php endpoint where the wpbs_save_settings action is processed, making it a direct target for malicious actors seeking to compromise WordPress installations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens in the plugin's administrative forms and actions. Attackers can leverage this weakness to craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the WordPress administration interface, particularly targeting the sc_social_slider_margin parameter within the wpbs_panel page. When administrators unknowingly visit a malicious website or click on compromised links, their browsers automatically submit requests to the vulnerable WordPress installation, effectively executing unauthorized actions with administrator privileges. This exploitation vector combines CSRF with potential XSS capabilities, as the vulnerability description indicates that attackers can simultaneously conduct cross-site scripting attacks through the same parameter manipulation.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-9437 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as successful exploitation can lead to complete administrative control over affected WordPress sites. Attackers can modify plugin settings to redirect users to malicious domains, inject malicious scripts into the site's frontend, or even install backdoors for persistent access. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-352 indicates it falls within the well-established category of cross-site request forgery flaws, which are particularly dangerous because they exploit the trust that web applications place in authenticated users. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1078 Valid Accounts and T1566 Phishing, as exploitation typically requires social engineering to convince administrators to visit malicious sites where CSRF attacks are initiated.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement multiple layers of mitigation strategies to protect their WordPress installations. The primary recommendation involves updating to the latest version of the Sliding Social Icons plugin where the CSRF protection mechanisms have been properly implemented. System administrators should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution, as well as monitoring for unusual administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and output encoding practices within WordPress plugins can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future, aligning with industry best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and other security frameworks. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper authentication and authorization controls in web applications, particularly in administrative interfaces where sensitive operations can be performed with minimal user interaction.