CVE-2023-46192 in Internal Link Building Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/27/2023
Auth. (admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Internet Marketing Ninjas Internal Link Building plugin <= 1.2.3 versions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/19/2023
The CVE-2023-46192 vulnerability represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within the Internet Marketing Ninjas Internal Link Building WordPress plugin, affecting versions up to and including 1.2.3. This vulnerability specifically targets administrative users with privileges level of administrator or higher, making it particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to execute malicious scripts in the context of authenticated admin sessions. The flaw exists in the plugin's handling of user input within its internal link building functionality, where unfiltered data is stored and subsequently rendered without proper sanitization or output encoding mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation and sanitization of input parameters that are processed through the plugin's administrative interfaces, creating an environment where malicious payloads can be persistently stored and executed whenever affected pages are accessed by authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when administrators interact with the plugin's features that accept user-provided data for internal link configuration. The stored nature of this XSS flaw means that malicious scripts are not only executed during the initial submission but also persist within the application's database or storage mechanisms, ensuring repeated execution whenever the vulnerable content is rendered to authenticated users. This persistent execution model significantly amplifies the attack impact compared to reflected XSS variants, as the malicious code executes automatically whenever the affected administrative interface is accessed. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in the context of WordPress security frameworks where administrative privileges are assumed to provide protection against such attacks, but the flaw demonstrates how plugin-level vulnerabilities can bypass these security assumptions.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers with administrative access to escalate their privileges and potentially compromise entire WordPress installations. The stored XSS attack vector allows for the execution of malicious JavaScript code that can perform actions such as cookie theft, session hijacking, or redirection to malicious sites. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent backdoors, modify plugin configurations, or inject malicious content into the website's content management system. The attack chain typically involves gaining initial access to an administrative account, either through credential compromise or other means, followed by exploitation of this stored XSS vulnerability to maintain access and expand the attack surface. This vulnerability directly impacts the integrity and confidentiality of the WordPress installation, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-46192 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that have addressed the vulnerability, as the vendor has likely released patches containing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring of administrative interfaces for suspicious activities and establish robust input sanitization procedures for all user-provided data within plugin environments. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls with XSS detection capabilities and conduct regular security assessments of third-party plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 related to spearphishing attachments, as attackers may leverage this vulnerability as part of broader exploitation campaigns targeting WordPress administrative interfaces. Additionally, this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of principle of least privilege implementation and regular security audits of plugin ecosystems, as it shows how seemingly minor flaws in third-party components can result in significant security breaches within larger application environments.