CVE-2015-2039 in Live Chat
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Acobot Live Chat & Contact Form plugin 2.0 for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) change plugin settings or (2) conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via the acobot_token parameter in the acobot page to wp-admin/options-general.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/16/2022
The CVE-2015-2039 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the Acobot Live Chat & Contact Form plugin version 2.0 for WordPress systems. This vulnerability specifically targets the administrative interface of WordPress installations, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the trust relationship between legitimate users and the web application. The flaw manifests through the acobot_token parameter within the acobot page that accesses wp-admin/options-general.php, allowing unauthorized individuals to manipulate plugin configurations and potentially execute malicious actions under administrative privileges. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of authentication bypass and privilege escalation, leveraging the inherent trust model of web applications where legitimate administrative sessions are exploited for unauthorized operations.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the plugin's administrative endpoints. When administrators access the WordPress admin panel to modify plugin settings or manage contact form configurations, the acobot_token parameter lacks sufficient cryptographic validation mechanisms to verify that requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions. This weakness enables attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators, effectively bypassing the standard authentication checks that should protect administrative functions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the wp-admin context, which typically requires elevated privileges and contains sensitive configuration options that could significantly impact the security posture of the entire WordPress installation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration changes, as it creates opportunities for more sophisticated attacks including cross-site scripting exploitation. Attackers can leverage the CSRF capability to inject malicious scripts through the contact form functionality, potentially compromising user data or establishing persistent access points within the target environment. This dual nature of the vulnerability allows threat actors to not only manipulate plugin settings but also to create lasting security weaknesses that could persist long after the initial exploitation attempt. The attack vector specifically targets the WordPress administrative interface, making it particularly dangerous for sites that rely heavily on contact forms and live chat functionality for user engagement.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the removal or updating of the vulnerable plugin to a patched version that properly validates CSRF tokens. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms such as token generation, validation, and session management should be enforced across all administrative interfaces. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual administrative activities that might indicate CSRF exploitation attempts. Additionally, administrators should conduct comprehensive security audits of their WordPress installations to identify other potentially vulnerable plugins or themes that may share similar implementation flaws. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence within web application environments, as attackers can leverage the compromised administrative access to establish long-term control over the target systems.