CVE-2016-10902 in wp-customer-reviews Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The wp-customer-reviews plugin before 3.0.9 for WordPress has CSRF in the admin tools.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/28/2023
The wp-customer-reviews plugin for WordPress contains a cross-site request forgery vulnerability in its admin tools functionality prior to version 3.0.9. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw exists within the plugin's administrative interface where user requests are not properly validated for authenticity, allowing attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated administrators. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it targets the administrative tools of a widely-used WordPress plugin, potentially enabling attackers to manipulate customer reviews, modify plugin settings, or execute other administrative functions without proper authorization.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the plugin's admin processing endpoints. When administrators access the plugin's administrative tools, the system fails to verify that requests originate from legitimate sources within the same session. This weakness allows malicious actors to craft specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, can trigger unintended actions within the plugin's administrative interface. The vulnerability is classified as a client-side attack vector where the attacker exploits the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser, leveraging the administrator's authenticated session to perform unauthorized operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it could potentially lead to complete administrative compromise of WordPress sites using the affected plugin. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to modify customer reviews, alter plugin configurations, or even install malicious code through the administrative interface. The attack surface is particularly wide given that WordPress plugins are frequently used for customer engagement and review management, making the wp-customer-reviews plugin a valuable target for threat actors. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and script injection, as it enables attackers to execute administrative commands through manipulated requests, and T1566.001 for spearphishing via social engineering, as attackers could craft phishing emails to trick administrators into executing malicious requests.
Organizations using the wp-customer-reviews plugin should immediately update to version 3.0.9 or later to remediate this vulnerability. The update addresses the missing anti-CSRF protection by implementing proper token validation mechanisms that ensure all administrative requests originate from legitimate sources. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as regular security audits of installed plugins, monitoring of administrative activities, and enforcement of multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating all administrative requests and implementing proper session management controls. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious administrative requests, and establish procedures for monitoring plugin updates and security advisories. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and the potential consequences of failing to address known vulnerabilities in widely-used web applications.