CVE-2016-15041 in Dashboard Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/16/2024
The MainWP Dashboard – The Private WordPress Manager for Multiple Website Maintenance plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the ‘mwp_setup_purchase_username’ parameter in versions up to, and including, 3.1.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-15041 affects the MainWP Dashboard plugin for WordPress, a tool designed for managing multiple WordPress websites from a single dashboard interface. This plugin enables users to perform maintenance tasks across numerous WordPress installations simultaneously, making it a valuable but potentially dangerous component when compromised. The vulnerability exists in versions up to and including 3.1.2, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of the plugin's user authentication and input validation mechanisms.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient input sanitization and output escaping within the 'mwp_setup_purchase_username' parameter handling. This parameter is utilized during the plugin's setup process when users enter their purchase username for activation purposes. The vulnerability arises because the plugin fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied input before processing it, allowing malicious actors to inject malicious scripts that can be executed in the context of other users' browsers. This represents a classic stored cross-site scripting vulnerability where the malicious payload is permanently stored on the server and executed whenever affected pages are accessed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for any user who has installed the affected plugin version, as it creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers. Once an attacker successfully injects malicious code through the vulnerable parameter, any user who accesses pages containing the injected content will automatically execute the malicious script in their browser. This can lead to various security consequences including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and potential complete compromise of the affected WordPress installations. The vulnerability particularly affects administrators who may have elevated privileges and access to sensitive system information.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) conditions, and specifically represents a stored XSS variant that can persist across multiple user sessions. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 (Phishing via Social Engineering) and T1059.007 (Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript), as it enables attackers to deliver malicious JavaScript payloads to target users. Organizations using the MainWP Dashboard plugin should immediately upgrade to a patched version to mitigate this risk, as the vulnerability allows for persistent malicious code execution without requiring user interaction beyond accessing the compromised pages. The lack of authentication requirements for exploitation makes this particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users may have access to affected dashboards. Security administrators should also monitor for any signs of exploitation attempts and consider implementing additional input validation measures at the web application firewall level to provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities.