CVE-2020-36664 in SEOTools
Summary
by MITRE • 03/04/2023
A vulnerability has been found in Artesãos SEOTools up to 0.17.1 and classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function setTitle of the file SEOMeta.php. The manipulation of the argument title leads to open redirect. Upgrading to version 0.17.2 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is ca27cd0edf917e0bc805227013859b8b5a1f01fb. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-222232.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-36664 represents a critical security flaw in the Artesãos SEOTools WordPress plugin, specifically affecting versions up to 0.17.1. This issue resides within the SEOMeta.php file and particularly targets the setTitle function, which serves as a core component for managing SEO metadata within WordPress environments. The vulnerability manifests when user-supplied input is improperly handled during the title parameter processing, creating an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate the redirect behavior of the plugin. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-601 category of Open Redirect vulnerabilities, which are classified as security weaknesses where applications redirect users to arbitrary web sites without proper validation of the destination URL. The specific nature of this flaw allows attackers to craft malicious URLs that would redirect unsuspecting users to phishing sites or malicious domains, potentially leading to credential theft or malware distribution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple redirect manipulation and represents a significant risk to WordPress site security and user trust. When exploited, the open redirect vulnerability enables attackers to perform social engineering attacks by redirecting users from legitimate website pages to malicious sites that appear to be part of the original domain. This creates a dangerous environment where users may unknowingly provide sensitive information to attackers who have successfully manipulated the plugin's redirect functionality. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical skill and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for widespread deployment. The fact that this affects the SEO metadata functionality means that the vulnerability could be leveraged during routine website maintenance or content management activities, when users are most likely to click on links or navigate through the site. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which involves the use of phishing techniques to gain initial access, and T1071.004 which covers application layer protocol usage for command and control communications.
The remediation strategy for CVE-2020-36664 is straightforward yet critical for maintaining site security, requiring an upgrade to version 0.17.2 of the Artesãos SEOTools plugin. This upgrade incorporates the patch identified by the commit hash ca27cd0edf917e0bc805227013859b8b5a1f01fb, which properly validates and sanitizes the title parameter before processing it within the setTitle function. The patch implementation addresses the root cause by ensuring that all user-supplied input undergoes proper validation and that any redirect operations are restricted to the same domain or explicitly authorized external domains. Security practitioners should immediately implement this upgrade across all affected WordPress installations, as the vulnerability represents a persistent risk that could be exploited by automated scanning tools or targeted attacks. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security audits of their WordPress plugin ecosystem to identify other potentially vulnerable components that may exhibit similar patterns of insecure input handling. The patch mechanism demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and output encoding practices as outlined in OWASP Top Ten security controls, particularly focusing on the prevention of injection vulnerabilities that could lead to unauthorized redirects and user deception. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of keeping all WordPress plugins updated and maintaining comprehensive security monitoring to detect and respond to similar issues before they can be exploited in the wild.