CVE-2023-23723 in Media WP Email Capture Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/02/2023
Auth. (admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Winwar Media WP Email Capture plugin <= 3.9.3 versions.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/24/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2023-23723 represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within the WP Email Capture plugin developed by Winwar Media. This security weakness affects versions up to and including 3.9.3, where authenticated administrators or users with elevated privileges can exploit the vulnerability to inject malicious scripts into the application's database. The flaw specifically resides in how the plugin processes and stores user input, creating a persistent XSS vector that can affect all users who interact with the compromised system. The vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework as CWE-79, which categorizes it as a classic cross-site scripting weakness where untrusted data is improperly sanitized before being rendered in web pages.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows authenticated users with administrator-level access to manipulate the plugin's data handling mechanisms. When malicious script code is submitted through the plugin's interface, it gets stored in the database without proper sanitization or encoding. Subsequently, when other users access the affected pages or views that display this stored content, the malicious scripts execute within their browser context. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that the attack payload persists even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over extended periods. The attack vector leverages the trust relationship between the legitimate user and the web application, enabling the execution of arbitrary code in the victim's browser environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it creates potential pathways for more sophisticated attacks within the compromised WordPress environment. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of other users, or redirect victims to malicious sites for credential harvesting. The vulnerability particularly affects WordPress installations where the WP Email Capture plugin is actively used for email collection and management, potentially exposing sensitive user data and compromising the integrity of the entire website. The attack chain typically involves initial privilege escalation to administrator level, followed by payload injection, and finally exploitation through user interaction with the stored malicious content, aligning with the attack pattern described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1531 for credential access and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-23723 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the stored XSS vulnerability, as the vendor has likely released patches to resolve the sanitization issues. System administrators should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, ensuring that all user-provided data is properly escaped before being stored or displayed within the application. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect suspicious script injection patterns and anomalous user behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing content security policies and regular security audits of installed plugins can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the updated plugin to ensure that the XSS vulnerability is completely resolved and that no regressions have been introduced in the plugin's functionality.