CVE-2023-23708 in Themeisle Visualizer Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/03/2023
Auth. (contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Themeisle Visualizer: Tables and Charts Manager for WordPress plugin <= 3.9.4 versions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/27/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2023-23708 represents a stored cross-site scripting flaw within the Themeisle Visualizer plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting versions up to and including 3.9.4. This issue resides in the plugin's handling of user input within the Tables and Charts Manager component, where unfiltered data enters the application's persistent storage and subsequently executes in users' browsers. The vulnerability impacts users with contributor roles and higher privileges, making it particularly concerning for sites with multiple content creators or editors who may inadvertently introduce malicious payloads through chart or table data inputs.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's data processing pipeline. When contributors or higher-privileged users create or modify charts and tables through the visualizer interface, the plugin fails to properly validate or escape user-supplied content before storing it in the WordPress database. This stored data is later retrieved and rendered without adequate security measures, allowing malicious scripts to execute in the context of other users' browsers who view the affected charts or tables. The vulnerability specifically affects the plugin's chart rendering functionality where user-generated content is directly incorporated into HTML output without proper sanitization.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for WordPress sites utilizing the Visualizer plugin, particularly those with collaborative publishing environments where multiple users contribute content. Attackers with contributor-level access can inject malicious JavaScript code that executes when other users view the affected charts or tables, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The impact extends beyond immediate script execution as it can enable further exploitation techniques including privilege escalation or data exfiltration. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 (Cross-Site Scripting) and represents a classic stored XSS attack vector that can persist long after the initial injection point.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is particularly concerning given the widespread adoption of the Visualizer plugin across WordPress installations. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that malicious payloads can remain active for extended periods, continuously affecting users who encounter the compromised content. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires authentication with contributor privileges or higher, making it less immediately exploitable than client-side vulnerabilities but still dangerous in multi-user environments. Mitigation strategies should include immediate plugin updates to versions 3.9.5 or later, which contain the necessary sanitization fixes, along with implementing content security policies and monitoring for unauthorized chart or table modifications.
Organizations should consider implementing additional defensive measures such as regular security scanning of WordPress installations, monitoring user activity for suspicious chart or data modifications, and enforcing strict access controls for contributor roles. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and output escaping in web applications, particularly when dealing with user-generated content that will be rendered in browsers. This issue also highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of third-party plugins, as the vulnerability affects a widely-used component within WordPress ecosystems. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a web application vulnerability exploitation technique that can lead to persistent access and data compromise within targeted environments.