CVE-2021-25099 in GiveWP Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 02/21/2022
The GiveWP WordPress plugin before 2.17.3 does not sanitise and escape the form_id parameter before outputting it back in the response of an unauthenticated request via the give_checkout_login AJAX action, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-25099 affects the GiveWP WordPress plugin version 2.17.2 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that exposes users to reflected cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability specifically manifests within the give_checkout_login AJAX action which handles unauthenticated requests, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject harmful scripts into the plugin's response. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization practices within the plugin's codebase, particularly concerning the form_id parameter that is processed without proper sanitization measures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into the HTTP response. When an unauthenticated user makes a request to the give_checkout_login AJAX endpoint, the form_id parameter is directly included in the response without appropriate escaping or sanitization. This allows attackers to craft malicious payloads that, when executed in a victim's browser, can perform actions such as stealing session cookies, redirecting users to malicious sites, or executing arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of the vulnerable WordPress installation. The vulnerability is classified as a reflected XSS attack because the malicious script is reflected back to the user through the application's response rather than being stored on the server.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to WordPress sites utilizing the GiveWP plugin, as it requires no authentication to exploit and can be leveraged by attackers to compromise user sessions or perform malicious activities. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially affect the entire WordPress installation, as reflected XSS attacks can be used to establish persistent footholds within the application environment. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing the XSS payload and distribute them through phishing campaigns or social engineering tactics, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in real-world scenarios. The vulnerability's accessibility to unauthenticated users means that even sites with restricted access can be compromised if attackers can craft malicious requests that are subsequently executed by authenticated users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-25099 should prioritize immediate patching of the GiveWP plugin to version 2.17.3 or later, which contains the necessary sanitization and escaping mechanisms for the form_id parameter. System administrators should also implement additional security measures including input validation at multiple layers, output escaping for all dynamic content, and regular security audits of WordPress plugins and themes. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering attacks that leverage reflected XSS vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies to add an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks, while monitoring web application firewalls for suspicious traffic patterns related to potential exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues within other plugins or custom code implementations that may present analogous security risks.