CVE-2016-10868 in all-in-one-wp-security-and-firewall Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The all-in-one-wp-security-and-firewall plugin before 4.0.5 for WordPress has XSS in the blacklist, file system, and file change detection settings pages.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2023
The CVE-2016-10868 vulnerability affects the all-in-one-wp-security-and-firewall plugin for WordPress, specifically versions prior to 4.0.5, presenting a cross-site scripting vulnerability within critical security configuration pages. This flaw exists in the plugin's blacklist management, file system monitoring, and file change detection functionality, which are essential components for maintaining WordPress site security. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within these administrative interfaces, allowing attackers to inject malicious script code that executes in the context of authenticated users' browsers. The affected pages serve as crucial control points for administrators to configure security policies, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could enable attackers to escalate privileges or compromise the entire WordPress installation through session hijacking or credential theft.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it in HTML output contexts within the administrative panels. When administrators navigate to the blacklist, file system, or file change detection settings pages, the plugin displays data without adequate escaping or encoding, creating opportunities for XSS exploitation. Attackers can craft malicious payloads that exploit the lack of proper input validation, particularly targeting the plugin's configuration forms where users enter data such as IP addresses, file paths, or exclusion patterns. The vulnerability manifests as reflected XSS, where malicious scripts are executed when the page loads and displays the unfiltered input data, potentially allowing attackers to steal session cookies, modify page content, or redirect users to malicious sites.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-10868 extends beyond simple script injection, as it compromises the integrity of WordPress security configurations and creates potential for further exploitation. Since these settings pages are typically accessed by administrators with elevated privileges, successful exploitation could enable attackers to modify security rules, bypass protection mechanisms, or gain unauthorized access to sensitive system information. The vulnerability undermines the trust model of the WordPress security plugin ecosystem, as it allows attackers to manipulate the very tools designed to protect the site. Additionally, the affected functionality covers core security monitoring capabilities, meaning that attackers could potentially disable or corrupt file change detection alerts, thereby evading detection of subsequent attacks or unauthorized modifications to the WordPress installation.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate plugin updates to version 4.0.5 or later, which include proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Administrators should also implement additional defensive measures such as monitoring for suspicious activity in the plugin's administrative interfaces and ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to these critical configuration pages. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a common pattern in web applications where input validation is insufficient or improperly implemented. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access through session hijacking and privilege escalation, as attackers can exploit the administrative access points to gain deeper system control. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional protection layers against similar XSS vulnerabilities in their WordPress environments.