CVE-2019-9576 in Blog2Social Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The Blog2Social plugin before 5.0.3 for WordPress allows wp-admin/admin.php?page=blog2social-ship XSS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2024
The CVE-2019-9576 vulnerability represents a cross-site scripting flaw in the Blog2Social WordPress plugin affecting versions prior to 5.0.3. This security weakness resides within the plugin's administrative interface where user input is not properly sanitized before being rendered back to administrators. The vulnerability specifically manifests when an attacker can manipulate parameters through the wp-admin/admin.php?page=blog2social-ship endpoint, allowing malicious scripts to be injected and executed within the context of an authenticated administrator's browser session.
The technical implementation of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the plugin's admin page handling code. When administrators navigate to the blog2social-ship page, the plugin fails to properly escape or filter user-supplied parameters that are subsequently rendered in HTML output. This creates an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code through crafted input fields or URL parameters that are then executed when the page loads in the administrator's browser. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as a result of inadequate input validation and output encoding practices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables privilege escalation attacks where an attacker can gain administrative control over WordPress installations. Once an attacker successfully injects malicious scripts, they can perform actions such as creating new administrator accounts, modifying content, stealing session cookies, or redirecting users to malicious sites. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal user interaction beyond visiting the compromised admin page, making it a prime target for automated exploitation. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 which covers the use of script-based commands to execute malicious code.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-9576 primarily involve upgrading to the patched version 5.0.3 or later of the Blog2Social plugin, which implements proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as restricting administrative access to trusted IP addresses, implementing web application firewalls, and conducting regular security audits of installed plugins. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date WordPress plugins and implementing proper security controls to prevent unauthorized access to administrative interfaces. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to provide additional protection against XSS attacks by restricting script execution sources.