CVE-2016-0770 in Connections Business Directory Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in includes/admin/pages/manage.php in the Connections Business Directory plugin before 8.5.9 for WordPress allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the s variable.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2024
The CVE-2016-0770 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Connections Business Directory plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting versions prior to 8.5.9. This vulnerability resides in the manage.php administrative page file and demonstrates a classic input validation weakness that enables malicious actors to execute arbitrary web scripts within the context of authenticated user sessions. The flaw manifests when the plugin fails to properly sanitize the s parameter, which is used for search functionality within the administrative interface. This oversight creates an exploitable vector that allows remote attackers to inject malicious HTML and JavaScript code through the search parameter, potentially compromising the security of administrators who interact with the compromised interface. The vulnerability operates under the CWE-79 category, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, making it a well-documented and severe class of web application vulnerability that has been extensively catalogued in security databases.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the s parameter in the URL, where attackers can craft malicious payloads that get executed when administrators view the search results page. When an administrator navigates to the manage.php page with a specially crafted s parameter containing malicious script code, the script executes within the browser context of the authenticated user, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. The vulnerability's impact is amplified because it affects the administrative interface, meaning that successful exploitation could provide attackers with elevated privileges and access to sensitive administrative functions. This represents a significant concern within the ATT&CK framework under the T1059 technique category, which encompasses the execution of malicious code through various attack vectors including web-based interfaces. The vulnerability's persistence in the codebase until version 8.5.9 indicates a prolonged exposure window that allowed numerous installations to remain vulnerable to this specific class of attack.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-0770 extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with a potential pathway to compromise entire WordPress installations through the administrative interface. When administrators are tricked into viewing malicious search results, their browser sessions become compromised, potentially allowing attackers to perform actions such as modifying directory entries, adding new users, or even executing arbitrary code on the server through additional attack vectors. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical skill and can be automated through various attack frameworks, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently interact with the plugin's search functionality. Organizations running vulnerable versions of the Connections Business Directory plugin face significant risk of unauthorized access, data manipulation, and potential full system compromise, especially when administrators have elevated privileges within the WordPress environment. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-79 and its alignment with ATT&CK techniques emphasizes the need for comprehensive input validation and output encoding practices to prevent such attacks from succeeding in real-world deployments.