CVE-2016-10869 in contact-form-plugin Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The contact-form-plugin plugin before 4.0.2 for WordPress has XSS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10869 affects the contact-form-plugin WordPress plugin version 4.0.1 and earlier, representing a cross-site scripting flaw that poses significant security risks to WordPress installations. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically targeting the plugin's handling of user input within contact form submissions. The flaw exists in the plugin's processing of form data without proper sanitization or output encoding, creating an environment where malicious actors can inject malicious scripts into the plugin's interface or generated pages.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase. When users submit contact forms through the affected plugin, the submitted data is not adequately sanitized before being rendered back to users or stored in the database. This allows attackers to craft malicious input containing script tags or other malicious code that executes in the context of other users' browsers when they view the contact form submissions or related pages. The vulnerability specifically impacts the plugin's handling of user-provided data that gets displayed in web interfaces without proper HTML entity encoding or script sanitization.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-10869 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of websites, and redirection to malicious sites. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to steal administrator credentials, manipulate form submissions, or create persistent backdoors within the WordPress environment. The attack surface is particularly concerning because contact forms are frequently used by website administrators and visitors, making the exploitation of this vulnerability potentially widespread. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious web content, and T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate upgrading to plugin version 4.0.2 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the XSS flaw. Administrators should also implement additional defensive measures such as input validation at multiple layers, output encoding for all user-supplied data, and regular security audits of WordPress plugins. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date WordPress plugins and implementing proper security controls including web application firewalls, content security policies, and regular security scanning to detect similar vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and monitoring for suspicious form submissions that may indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the updated plugin to ensure functionality remains intact while addressing the security flaw.