CVE-2021-42546 in Use-Your-Drive Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 12/13/2021
Insufficient Input Validation in the search functionality of Wordpress plugin Use-Your-Drive prior to 1.18.3 allows unauthenticated user to craft a reflected Cross-Site Scripting attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2021
The vulnerability CVE-2021-42546 represents a critical security flaw in the Use-Your-Drive WordPress plugin affecting versions prior to 1183. This issue stems from inadequate input validation within the plugin's search functionality, creating a pathway for reflected cross-site scripting attacks that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers. The vulnerability exists in the plugin's handling of user-supplied input during search operations, where malicious payloads are not properly sanitized or escaped before being returned to users. This weakness allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of a victim's browser when they encounter the reflected content, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or other malicious activities.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of search parameters that are then reflected back to the user without proper sanitization. When a user performs a search operation within the plugin's interface, the input values are directly incorporated into the HTTP response without adequate validation or encoding. This creates a classic reflected XSS vector where an attacker can craft a malicious URL containing script code that gets executed when the victim accesses the search results page. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication, making it accessible to anyone who can interact with the plugin's search functionality, and the reflected nature means the attack can be delivered through various means including email links, social media posts, or compromised websites.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to WordPress installations using the affected plugin version. The reflected XSS attack can be leveraged to steal user sessions, redirect victims to malicious websites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users if they are logged into the WordPress admin. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially compromise entire WordPress installations, especially when combined with other vulnerabilities or when attackers can escalate privileges through additional exploitation vectors. Security researchers have classified this as a high-severity issue due to its accessibility and the potential for widespread exploitation across numerous WordPress sites using the vulnerable plugin.
Organizations should immediately update to version 1.18.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as the plugin developers have addressed the input validation issues in the updated release. The fix involves implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding for all search parameters, ensuring that any user-supplied data is properly validated before being processed or returned to users. Additionally, implementing a web application firewall rule to detect and block suspicious search parameter patterns can provide additional protection during the upgrade process. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for social engineering via malicious links, demonstrating how the vulnerability can be weaponized in real-world attack scenarios. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security audits of their WordPress installations to identify any other potentially vulnerable plugins or themes that may be susceptible to similar input validation issues.