CVE-2017-2171 in Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting vulnerability in Captcha prior to version 4.3.0, Car Rental prior to version 1.0.5, Contact Form Multi prior to version 1.2.1, Contact Form prior to version 4.0.6, Contact Form to DB prior to version 1.5.7, Custom Admin Page prior to version 0.1.2, Custom Fields Search prior to version 1.3.2, Custom Search prior to version 1.36, Donate prior to version 2.1.1, Email Queue prior to version 1.1.2, Error Log Viewer prior to version 1.0.6, Facebook Button prior to version 2.54, Featured Posts prior to version 1.0.1, Gallery Categories prior to version 1.0.9, Gallery prior to version 4.5.0, Google +1 prior to version 1.3.4, Google AdSense prior to version 1.44, Google Analytics prior to version 1.7.1, Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA) prior to version 1.28, Google Maps prior to version 1.3.6, Google Shortlink prior to version 1.5.3, Google Sitemap prior to version 3.0.8, Htaccess prior to version 1.7.6, Job Board prior to version 1.1.3, Latest Posts prior to version 0.3, Limit Attempts prior to version 1.1.8, LinkedIn prior to version 1.0.5, Multilanguage prior to version 1.2.2, PDF & Print prior to version 1.9.4, Pagination prior to version 1.0.7, Pinterest prior to version 1.0.5, Popular Posts prior to version 1.0.5, Portfolio prior to version 2.4, Post to CSV prior to version 1.3.1, Profile Extra prior to version 1.0.7. PromoBar prior to version 1.1.1, Quotes and Tips prior to version 1.32, Re-attacher prior to version 1.0.9, Realty prior to version 1.1.0, Relevant - Related Posts prior to version 1.2.0, Sender prior to version 1.2.1, SMTP prior to version 1.1.0, Social Buttons Pack prior to version 1.1.1, Subscriber prior to version 1.3.5, Testimonials prior to version 0.1.9, Timesheet prior to version 0.1.5, Twitter Button prior to version 2.55, User Role prior to version 1.5.6, Updater prior to version 1.35, Visitors Online prior to version 1.0.0, and Zendesk Help Center prior to version 1.0.5 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the function to display the BestWebSoft menu.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/29/2019
This cross-site scripting vulnerability affects multiple WordPress plugins developed by BestWebSoft, specifically targeting versions prior to the listed security updates. The flaw exists in the way these plugins handle menu display functionality, allowing remote attackers to inject malicious scripts or HTML content through the function responsible for rendering the BestWebSoft menu. This represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered in the browser context. The vulnerability impacts a wide range of plugins including captcha systems, contact forms, social media integration tools, analytics plugins, and various administrative utilities, creating a significant attack surface across different functional areas of WordPress sites. The technical implementation appears to involve insufficient input validation and output encoding in the menu rendering process, where plugin parameters or user-supplied data are directly incorporated into HTML output without proper sanitization measures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it could enable attackers to perform session hijacking, redirect users to malicious websites, steal sensitive cookies, or execute malicious code in the context of authenticated user sessions. Attackers could exploit this weakness by crafting malicious URLs or form submissions that include script tags, potentially compromising user accounts and site integrity. The vulnerability affects both frontend and backend interfaces since the menu rendering function is likely used across different contexts within the WordPress admin and public-facing areas. This makes the attack vector particularly dangerous as it could be exploited by unauthenticated users to compromise the entire WordPress installation, especially when combined with other vulnerabilities or when users with administrative privileges interact with the malicious content. The widespread nature of affected plugins means that even sites using only a few of these components could be vulnerable, creating cascading security risks across the WordPress ecosystem.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate plugin updates to versions 4.3.0 or later for all affected modules, as these releases contain proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all BestWebSoft plugins are updated regularly, as this vulnerability could be exploited by automated scanning tools that target known vulnerable plugin versions. Additionally, implementing content security policies and input validation at multiple layers can provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution, where attackers leverage web-based vulnerabilities to execute malicious code in user browsers. Network administrators should monitor for exploitation attempts and consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads attempting to exploit this specific vulnerability. Regular security audits of installed plugins and themes should be conducted to identify other potential XSS vulnerabilities that may not have been explicitly addressed in official patches.