CVE-2023-1804 in Product Catalog Feed Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/02/2023
The Product Catalog Feed by PixelYourSite WordPress plugin before 2.1.1 does not sanitise and escape the edit parameter before outputting it back in an attribute, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting which could be used against high privilege users such as administrators.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-1804 affects the Product Catalog Feed by PixelYourSite WordPress plugin version 2.1.0 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that exposes systems to reflected cross-site scripting attacks. This issue arises from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the plugin's handling of the edit parameter, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of affected users' browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into HTML attributes. When the edit parameter is processed and subsequently output back to the browser, the plugin does not apply appropriate escaping mechanisms to prevent script execution. This creates a reflected XSS vector where an attacker can craft a malicious URL containing script code within the edit parameter, which gets executed when a victim with administrative privileges clicks the link or visits the page. The vulnerability specifically impacts high-privilege users such as administrators, making it particularly dangerous as successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise and unauthorized administrative access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it represents a significant threat to WordPress site security and user data integrity. Attackers can leverage this reflected XSS to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized administrative actions, modify content, or redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-79 indicates a weakness in input validation and output encoding, while its exploitation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for credential harvesting. The reflected nature of the attack means that the malicious payload is delivered via a crafted URL that is reflected back to the victim's browser, making it particularly effective for phishing attacks and social engineering campaigns targeting privileged users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-1804 require immediate action to upgrade the affected plugin to version 2.1.1 or later, which contains the necessary sanitization and escaping fixes. System administrators should also implement additional security measures including regular security audits, monitoring for suspicious user activity, and implementing content security policies to limit script execution. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional defense-in-depth, though the primary remediation involves updating the vulnerable plugin to ensure proper input sanitization and output escaping. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other potentially affected plugins or components within their WordPress installations, as similar issues may exist in other third-party software components.