CVE-2015-4127 in church_admin Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the church_admin plugin before 0.810 for WordPress allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the address parameter, as demonstrated by a request to index.php/2015/05/21/church_admin-registration-form/.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/08/2025
The CVE-2015-4127 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the church_admin WordPress plugin, specifically affecting versions prior to 0.810. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of user input through the address parameter, creating a persistent security risk that could be exploited by remote attackers to execute malicious scripts within the context of affected websites. The vulnerability manifests when users navigate to specific URLs such as index.php/2015/05/21/church_admin-registration-form/, where the plugin fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied input before rendering it in web pages.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the address parameter, which is processed by the church_admin plugin without adequate input validation or output sanitization measures. When an attacker crafts a malicious payload and injects it through this parameter, the plugin stores or displays the content without proper HTML escaping or script filtering, allowing the injected code to execute in the browsers of other users who visit the affected pages. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored XSS variant where malicious content persists on the server and affects multiple users.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4127 extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with potential access to sensitive user data, session hijacking capabilities, and the ability to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to steal cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, deface websites, or even establish persistent backdoors within the WordPress environment. The vulnerability affects the entire WordPress ecosystem where the church_admin plugin is installed, potentially compromising thousands of websites that fail to update to the patched version.
Security practitioners should recognize this vulnerability as part of the broader ATT&CK framework's TA0001 Initial Access and TA0002 Execution phases, where attackers can use XSS vulnerabilities to gain initial footholds and execute malicious code. The remediation strategy involves immediate deployment of the patched church_admin plugin version 0.810 or later, along with implementing additional security measures such as input validation, output encoding, and Content Security Policy implementations. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other potentially affected plugins and ensure proper patch management protocols are in place to prevent similar vulnerabilities from persisting in their web applications.