CVE-2016-1000144 in photoxhibit Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Reflected XSS in wordpress plugin photoxhibit v2.1.8
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2019
The vulnerability CVE-2016-1000144 represents a reflected cross-site scripting flaw discovered in the wordpress plugin photoxhibit version 2.1.8. This security weakness allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, exploiting the plugin's insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's handling of user-supplied data within HTTP request parameters, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code in the context of a victim's browser session. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous in content management systems like wordpress where plugins extend functionality and often process user inputs without adequate security measures.
The technical implementation of this reflected XSS vulnerability occurs when the photoxhibit plugin fails to properly sanitize or escape user-provided input before incorporating it into dynamically generated web page content. When a user visits a maliciously crafted URL containing script code within the plugin's parameter handling logic, the server reflects this malicious content back to the user's browser without proper encoding or filtering. This allows attackers to execute scripts in the victim's browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which specifically addresses the failure to properly escape or encode user data before including it in web responses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform sophisticated attacks such as cookie theft, session manipulation, and privilege escalation within the affected wordpress environment. An attacker could craft malicious URLs that, when clicked by an authenticated user, would execute scripts to steal session cookies or modify the user's administrative privileges. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that the attack payload is delivered via the web server's response rather than being stored on the server, making it harder to detect through traditional security scanning methods. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for Initial Access through Valid Accounts and T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter using PowerShell or similar scripting languages.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1000144 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the reflected XSS vulnerability, as the vendor likely released patches to properly sanitize input parameters. System administrators should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, particularly focusing on the plugin's parameter handling logic. Additional protective measures include deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious script patterns, implementing content security policies to restrict script execution, and conducting regular security audits of installed wordpress plugins. Organizations should also establish robust monitoring procedures to detect unusual traffic patterns or suspicious URL parameters that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date third-party components in wordpress environments and highlights the necessity of thorough security testing for all plugin installations to prevent similar reflected XSS vulnerabilities from compromising user sessions and system integrity.