CVE-2015-10001 in WP-Stats Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/01/2021
The WP-Stats WordPress plugin before 2.52 does not have CSRF check when saving its settings, and did not escape some of them when outputting them, allowing attacker to make logged in high privilege users change them and set Cross-Site Scripting payloads
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/04/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-10001 affects the WP-Stats WordPress plugin version 2.51 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that combines both cross-site request forgery and cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. This issue arises from insufficient input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's administrative interface. The vulnerability exists in the plugin's settings management functionality where it fails to implement proper CSRF protection measures, while simultaneously not properly sanitizing user input before rendering it in the browser context. This dual nature of the vulnerability creates a particularly dangerous attack vector that can be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate plugin configurations and inject malicious scripts into the WordPress administration environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to incorporate CSRF tokens in its settings update forms, which allows attackers to craft malicious requests that can be executed by authenticated administrators without their knowledge or consent. Additionally, the plugin does not properly escape output when displaying certain configuration values, creating an XSS vulnerability that can be leveraged to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of the administrator's browser session. This combination of flaws enables an attacker to not only modify plugin settings but also to inject persistent XSS payloads that can be executed whenever the administrator views the affected pages, potentially leading to complete session hijacking or privilege escalation within the WordPress environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration modification, as it provides attackers with the capability to establish persistent backdoors within the WordPress installation. When high-privilege users such as administrators or editors visit pages containing the malicious XSS payloads, their browser sessions become compromised, allowing attackers to perform actions with full administrative privileges. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including social engineering campaigns where administrators are tricked into visiting malicious websites or through compromised third-party services that may be accessed by administrators. The lack of proper input sanitization means that attackers can inject malicious scripts that can steal cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or even modify content within the WordPress installation, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations relying on WordPress for their web presence.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352 for Cross-Site Request Forgery and CWE-79 for Cross-Site Scripting, both of which are fundamental security concerns in web application development. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1566 for Phishing, as it leverages authenticated sessions to execute malicious code and can be delivered through social engineering techniques. The attack chain typically begins with an initial compromise through phishing or other means to gain access to a high-privilege account, followed by exploitation of the CSRF vulnerability to modify plugin settings, and finally leveraging the XSS vulnerability to execute persistent malicious code within the administrator's browser context. Organizations should immediately update to WP-Stats version 2.52 or later, which includes proper CSRF token implementation and output escaping mechanisms. Additional mitigations include implementing Content Security Policy headers, monitoring for unauthorized plugin modifications, and conducting regular security audits of WordPress installations to identify similar vulnerabilities in other plugins or themes.