CVE-2018-1002001 in Arigato Autoresponder
Summary
by MITRE
There is a reflected XSS vulnerability in WordPress Arigato Autoresponder and News letter v2.5.1.8 This vulnerability requires administrative privileges to exploit.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/16/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1002001 represents a reflected cross-site scripting flaw within the WordPress Arigato Autoresponder and News letter plugin version 2.5.1.8. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation in web applications. The flaw allows malicious actors to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, making it a critical concern for web application security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the plugin's administrative interface where user input is not properly sanitized before being reflected back to users. When an administrator interacts with the plugin's settings or management pages, the application fails to adequately validate or escape input parameters, creating an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code. The vulnerability requires administrative privileges to exploit, which means that an attacker must first gain access to an administrator account or find another way to execute malicious code within the context of an administrative session.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to WordPress installations using the affected plugin version. The reflected XSS attack vector enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious websites. The requirement for administrative privileges limits the scope of exploitation but does not eliminate the threat, as successful compromise of administrative accounts can lead to complete system takeover. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to modify plugin settings, inject malware into the WordPress environment, or even establish persistent backdoors within the application.
The security implications extend beyond immediate exploitation as this vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation practices within the plugin's codebase. The attack surface is primarily limited to the administrative areas of the plugin, but the potential for privilege escalation exists if the attacker can leverage this vulnerability to gain additional access or manipulate the application's functionality. Organizations using this plugin should consider the broader context of their WordPress security posture, as reflected XSS vulnerabilities often indicate a lack of comprehensive security testing and input validation across the entire application.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of the affected plugin to version 2.5.1.9 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as regular security audits of installed plugins, implementation of web application firewalls, and enforcement of strong administrative account security practices including multi-factor authentication. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 which covers cross-site scripting attacks and represents a common vector for privilege escalation in web application environments. Organizations should also consider implementing strict input validation policies and regular security monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.