CVE-2016-1000151 in tera-charts Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Reflected XSS in wordpress plugin tera-charts v1.0
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1000151 represents a reflected cross-site scripting flaw within the tera-charts WordPress plugin version 1.0. This security weakness specifically affects web applications that utilize the plugin for chart generation and data visualization purposes. The vulnerability arises from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the plugin's codebase, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into web pages viewed by other users. The flaw manifests when user-supplied parameters are directly reflected back to the browser without proper sanitization, enabling attackers to craft malicious URLs that execute unintended scripts in the context of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user input received through HTTP request parameters. When the tera-charts plugin processes incoming data, it fails to implement adequate encoding or validation measures that would prevent malicious payloads from being executed in the browser context. This weakness aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, and more precisely maps to CWE-79-Reflected as the attack vector involves reflected malicious content. The vulnerability can be exploited through various parameter injection points within the plugin's interface, typically involving URL parameters that control chart rendering options or data display settings.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration. An attacker could craft a malicious link that, when clicked by an authenticated user, would execute JavaScript code to steal session cookies or redirect users to phishing sites. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload is not stored on the server but rather reflected back in the HTTP response, making it particularly challenging to detect through traditional security scanning methods. This vulnerability poses significant risk to WordPress installations using the affected plugin, potentially compromising user sessions and allowing for privilege escalation attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1000151 should prioritize immediate patching of the tera-charts plugin to version 1.1 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms at multiple layers of their web application architecture, following security best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and the ATT&CK framework's T1566 technique for social engineering. Network-based protections including web application firewalls and content security policies can provide additional defense-in-depth measures, though these should not replace proper code-level fixes. Security monitoring should include detection of suspicious URL patterns and unusual traffic behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts, while regular security audits should verify that all WordPress plugins and themes are kept up to date with security patches. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating and sanitizing all user inputs and properly encoding output data to prevent XSS attacks, aligning with the security principles recommended in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO/IEC 27001 standards.