CVE-2016-10896 in seo-redirection plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The seo-redirection plugin before 4.3 for WordPress has stored XSS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2023
The seo-redirection plugin for WordPress versions prior to 4.3 contained a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that allowed attackers to inject malicious scripts into the plugin's administrative interface. This flaw specifically affected the plugin's handling of user input within redirection rules, creating a persistent security risk that could be exploited by unauthorized users with minimal privileges. The vulnerability existed in the plugin's data sanitization and output encoding mechanisms, failing to properly validate or escape user-supplied content before storing it in the WordPress database and subsequently rendering it on administrative pages.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stemmed from inadequate input validation within the plugin's administrative forms where users could define redirection URLs, source paths, and destination addresses. When administrators visited the plugin's settings page or viewed redirection lists, the stored malicious payloads would execute within their browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, unauthorized privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. The flaw was classified as a stored XSS vulnerability under CWE-79, which represents one of the most dangerous categories of web application vulnerabilities due to its persistent nature and potential for widespread impact.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple script execution, as it could enable attackers to manipulate the WordPress administrative interface, modify redirection rules to redirect users to malicious sites, or even gain access to sensitive administrative functions. Security researchers noted that the vulnerability was particularly dangerous because it required minimal user interaction from administrators, who might simply visit the plugin's management screen to trigger the malicious payload. This made the attack vector highly effective in environments where administrators regularly accessed plugin settings, potentially affecting numerous WordPress installations across different organizations and deployment scenarios.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should have immediately updated to version 4.3 or later of the seo-redirection plugin, which included proper input sanitization and output encoding measures. Additional mitigations included implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns, restricting administrative privileges to reduce the attack surface, and conducting thorough security audits of all installed WordPress plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under technique T1213.002 for data from information repositories, as attackers could potentially harvest sensitive data through the execution of malicious scripts within the administrator's browser session, while also aligning with T1547.001 for registry run keys and startup folder persistence through manipulation of the WordPress plugin ecosystem.