CVE-2022-2753 in Ketchup Restaurant Reservations Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/19/2022
The Ketchup Restaurant Reservations WordPress plugin through 1.0.0 does not sanitise and escape some of the reservation user inputs, allowing unauthenticated attackers to perform Cross-Site Scripting attacks logged in admin viewing the malicious reservation made
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/20/2022
The CVE-2022-2753 vulnerability affects the Ketchup Restaurant Reservations WordPress plugin version 1.0.0 and earlier, representing a critical cross-site scripting flaw that undermines the security posture of affected websites. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's reservation handling functionality, creating an exploitable vector for unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts into the system. The flaw specifically targets user inputs related to reservation data, which are subsequently displayed in administrative interfaces without proper security measures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied data before storing and rendering it within the WordPress admin dashboard. When administrators view reservation records, the maliciously crafted input is executed in their browser context, potentially enabling attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions, or redirect victims to malicious domains. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which specifically addresses the failure to properly escape or sanitize user-controllable data before incorporating it into dynamically generated web content. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it requires no authentication to exploit, making it particularly dangerous for widely accessible web applications.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for restaurant businesses relying on WordPress for their online presence. Attackers can exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized access to reservation data, potentially compromising customer privacy and business operations. The administrative interface becomes a potential attack vector where malicious scripts can execute with the privileges of logged-in administrators, leading to potential data breaches, unauthorized modifications, or complete system compromise. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell, as the XSS payload can execute commands in the victim's browser context, and T1566.001 - Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment, since attackers can craft malicious reservation entries to deliver payloads through seemingly legitimate business interactions.
The recommended mitigation strategies include immediate plugin updates to versions that address the sanitization issues, implementing proper input validation and output escaping mechanisms, and conducting thorough security audits of all user-input handling processes within the WordPress environment. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution, regularly monitoring for suspicious reservation entries, and establishing incident response procedures for detecting and responding to potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, administrators should ensure that only authorized personnel have access to reservation management interfaces and that proper input sanitization is enforced throughout all web applications to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the system.