CVE-2020-9335 in Photo Gallery Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple stored XSS vulnerabilities exist in the 10Web Photo Gallery plugin before 1.5.46 WordPress. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability would allow a authenticated admin user to inject arbitrary JavaScript code that is viewed by other users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2025
The CVE-2020-9335 vulnerability represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within the 10Web Photo Gallery WordPress plugin, affecting versions prior to 1.5.46. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of user input within the gallery management interface, where malicious code can be persistently stored and subsequently executed when other users view the affected gallery pages. The flaw specifically impacts authenticated administrators who possess sufficient privileges to modify gallery configurations, making it particularly dangerous as it leverages legitimate administrative access to compromise the entire site's security posture.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's backend processing. When administrators enter gallery titles, descriptions, or other configurable fields, the plugin fails to properly validate or escape special characters that could be interpreted as JavaScript code. This allows an attacker with administrative privileges to inject malicious scripts that are then stored in the database and executed whenever gallery pages are rendered. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and output encoding in preventing code injection attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the ability to perform a wide range of malicious activities through the compromised administrative account. Once an attacker gains access to an administrator's session, they can manipulate gallery content, modify plugin settings, potentially escalate privileges, and even use the compromised site as a launchpad for further attacks against other users. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious code persists even after the initial injection, allowing for long-term exploitation and making detection more challenging. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers scripting through command-line interfaces, and T1566.001, which addresses spearphishing with attachments, as it enables attackers to establish persistent access through legitimate administrative interfaces.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-9335 require immediate action to upgrade the 10Web Photo Gallery plugin to version 1.5.46 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation issues. Organizations should also implement comprehensive monitoring of administrative user activities and conduct thorough security audits of all installed plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities. Network segmentation and principle of least privilege should be enforced to limit the potential damage from compromised administrative accounts. Additionally, regular security assessments including automated scanning for XSS vulnerabilities, proper input validation implementation, and output encoding practices should be integrated into the development lifecycle to prevent similar issues in the future. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date third-party components and implementing robust security controls around administrative interfaces to prevent unauthorized code execution and maintain overall system integrity.