CVE-2019-5960 in WP Open Graph
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in WP Open Graph 1.6.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/02/2020
The CVE-2019-5960 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting the WP Open Graph plugin version 1.6.1 and earlier. This vulnerability resides within the WordPress ecosystem and specifically targets the plugin's handling of user authentication tokens during web requests. The flaw enables remote attackers to exploit the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms, allowing them to manipulate administrative sessions without legitimate authorization. The vulnerability's impact extends to privileged users who may unknowingly execute malicious actions through forged requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative sessions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to validate request authenticity properly. When administrators interact with the plugin's administrative interfaces, the system should verify that requests originate from legitimate sources through the use of anti-CSRF tokens or similar mechanisms. However, the WP Open Graph plugin version 1.6.1 and earlier lacks this crucial validation, creating a pathway for attackers to craft malicious requests that bypass authentication checks. This flaw operates at the application layer and specifically affects the plugin's handling of HTTP requests that modify administrative settings or perform privileged operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it directly compromises the integrity of administrative sessions within WordPress installations. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform unauthorized actions such as modifying plugin configurations, changing user permissions, or executing administrative commands without proper authentication. The vulnerability's remote nature means attackers do not require physical access to the system or direct network connectivity to exploit it. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that multiple attack scenarios may be possible, including phishing attacks, compromised websites, or social engineering tactics that trick administrators into executing malicious requests.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as a variant of CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions in web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique under the T1078 credential access sub-technique, where adversaries leverage weaknesses in authentication mechanisms to gain elevated privileges. Organizations using affected versions of the WP Open Graph plugin face significant risk of unauthorized administrative access, potentially leading to complete system compromise through subsequent exploitation of the elevated privileges. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the plugin's security architecture, highlighting the importance of implementing robust anti-CSRF measures in web applications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate action including upgrading to a patched version of the WP Open Graph plugin, which should include proper anti-CSRF token implementation. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as enabling two-factor authentication, monitoring for unusual administrative activities, and deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attacks. The remediation process must include thorough testing of the updated plugin to ensure compatibility with existing WordPress installations. Organizations should conduct security assessments to identify other potentially vulnerable plugins or components within their WordPress environments, as similar CSRF vulnerabilities may exist in other third-party components. Regular security audits and automated vulnerability scanning should be implemented to detect similar flaws in the broader application ecosystem.