CVE-2018-10234 in User Profile
Summary
by MITRE
Authenticated Cross site Scripting exists in the User Profile & Membership plugin before 2.0.11 for WordPress via the "Account Deletion Custom Text" input field on the wp-admin/admin.php?page=um_options§ion=account page.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2018-10234 represents a persistent cross site scripting flaw within the User Profile & Membership plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting versions prior to 2.0.11. This issue resides in the administrative interface where unvalidated user input is directly incorporated into the web page without proper sanitization or encoding mechanisms. The vulnerability manifests through the "Account Deletion Custom Text" input field located within the wp-admin/admin.php?page=um_options§ion=account administrative page, which serves as a critical attack vector for authenticated users with sufficient privileges to access the plugin settings.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices within the plugin's administrative components. When administrators configure the account deletion custom text, the system fails to properly sanitize the input before rendering it within the web interface. This allows an authenticated attacker with access to the plugin settings to inject malicious javascript code that will execute in the context of other administrators' browsers. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which specifically addresses the failure to properly encode or escape user-controllable data before including it in dynamically generated web content.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to WordPress installations that rely on the User Profile & Membership plugin for user management functionality. An attacker who gains access to an administrator account can leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary javascript code in the browser of other administrators, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. The attack requires only authenticated access to the plugin's administrative settings, which may be obtained through credential compromise or social engineering attacks. This vulnerability can be exploited to create persistent backdoors, steal administrator sessions, or manipulate the plugin's functionality to redirect users to malicious sites.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, as it leverages the browser's javascript execution environment to perform malicious activities. Additionally, it corresponds to T1548.001 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Setuid and Setgid, since the vulnerability allows for privilege escalation within the administrative context. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can enable attackers to manipulate the plugin's configuration, potentially affecting user authentication mechanisms, profile management, and membership access controls. Organizations using this plugin should immediately update to version 2.0.11 or later, as this release includes proper input sanitization and output encoding measures to prevent the injection of malicious javascript code. The mitigation strategy should also include monitoring for suspicious administrative activities, implementing strict access controls for plugin settings, and conducting regular security audits of installed plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the WordPress ecosystem.