CVE-2017-18510 in custom-sidebars Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The custom-sidebars plugin before 3.1.0 for WordPress has CSRF related to set location, import actions, and export actions.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/25/2023
The CVE-2017-18510 vulnerability affects the custom-sidebars plugin for WordPress versions prior to 3.1.0, presenting a cross-site request forgery weakness that enables unauthorized manipulation of sidebar configurations. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of location settings, import operations, and export functions, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations that rely on this plugin for custom sidebar management. The flaw allows attackers to execute malicious actions without user consent, potentially leading to unauthorized modifications of website sidebar configurations and content placement.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and authenticate requests originating from unauthorized sources. When users navigate to the plugin's administrative interfaces for setting locations, importing sidebar configurations, or exporting current sidebar data, the system does not adequately verify the legitimacy of these requests through proper nonce validation or origin checking mechanisms. This absence of robust request verification creates an exploitable condition where malicious actors can craft forged requests that appear to originate from authenticated users with administrative privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration changes, as it can enable attackers to manipulate the website's front-end presentation and potentially disrupt user experience or compromise security through malicious sidebar content insertion. Attackers could leverage this weakness to redirect users to malicious websites, inject unwanted advertisements, or modify sidebar content in ways that could lead to phishing attacks or other social engineering exploits. The import and export functionality presents particular risk since these operations could be used to overwrite existing sidebar configurations with maliciously crafted data, potentially leading to more severe system compromise or data manipulation.
Organizations using the affected plugin should immediately implement the available patch version 3.1.0 or higher to address this vulnerability. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing additional security measures such as restricting administrative access to specific IP addresses, enabling two-factor authentication, and monitoring for unusual administrative activities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in web security practices. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through web application exploitation, potentially enabling attackers to establish more persistent access to affected systems.