CVE-2021-34636 in WooCommerce Sales Timers Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/28/2021
The Countdown and CountUp, WooCommerce Sales Timers WordPress plugin is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery via the save_theme function found in the ~/includes/admin/coundown_theme_page.php file due to a missing nonce check which allows attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts, in versions up to and including 1.5.7.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-34636 affects the Countdown and CountUp WooCommerce Sales Timers WordPress plugin, specifically targeting versions up to and including 1.5.7. This issue resides within the administrative functionality of the plugin where the save_theme function operates without proper nonce validation. The absence of this critical security mechanism creates a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the plugin's administrative interface through cross-site request forgery attacks. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows unauthorized individuals to inject arbitrary web scripts into the plugin's configuration, potentially compromising the entire WordPress installation.
The technical flaw manifests in the lack of nonce verification within the save_theme function located in the ~/includes/admin/countdown_theme_page.php file. A nonce is a unique, time-limited token that ensures requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions and prevents unauthorized modifications to plugin settings. Without this validation, attackers can craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated administrators, enabling them to manipulate the plugin's theme configurations. This weakness directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities where applications fail to validate the origin of requests. The vulnerability creates a condition where an attacker can perform administrative actions without proper authentication, effectively bypassing the WordPress security model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with potential access to modify critical plugin configurations that govern how countdown and countup timers function within WooCommerce stores. This could lead to disruption of sales timing mechanisms, manipulation of promotional campaigns, or even the injection of malicious code that could compromise customer data or redirect traffic to malicious sites. The attack surface is particularly dangerous in e-commerce environments where timing mechanisms directly impact revenue generation and customer experience. Attackers could potentially use this vulnerability to manipulate sale timers, causing confusion among customers or to inject malicious scripts that could harvest sensitive information from user interactions with the store.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-34636 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that include proper nonce validation mechanisms. Administrators should also implement additional security layers including regular monitoring of plugin files for unauthorized modifications, implementing web application firewalls to detect suspicious requests, and conducting thorough security audits of WordPress installations. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213.002 which involves data from information repositories, as attackers could potentially extract or manipulate stored data through the compromised administrative interface. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls for WordPress administrative accounts and regularly review user permissions to minimize the potential impact of any successful exploitation attempts.