CVE-2023-47872 in wpForo Forum Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/30/2023
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in gVectors Team wpForo Forum allows Stored XSS.This issue affects wpForo Forum: from n/a through 2.2.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-47872 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the wpForo Forum plugin for WordPress platforms. This security weakness stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization during the web page generation process, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject persistent malicious scripts into forum content. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions of wpForo Forum ranging from the initial release through version 2.2.3, indicating a prolonged window of exposure for affected systems. The flaw manifests as a stored XSS vulnerability, meaning that malicious scripts injected by attackers can persist in the forum's database and execute automatically whenever other users view the compromised content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it within HTML pages. When forum participants create posts, replies, or other content containing malicious script payloads, the wpForo Forum plugin does not adequately neutralize these inputs during the rendering process. This allows attackers to craft malicious content that, when displayed to other users, executes in their browsers with the privileges of the victim. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious scripts are permanently embedded within the forum's database, ensuring repeated execution against multiple users over time. This particular weakness aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-site Scripting vulnerabilities in web applications, and represents a classic example of improper input handling that violates fundamental security principles.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-47872 extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it provides attackers with a persistent foothold within compromised forum environments. Once an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can execute scripts that steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or modify forum content to spread additional malware. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that even after the initial attack, the malicious code continues to affect users who view the compromised content, creating a sustained threat vector. This vulnerability particularly affects community-driven platforms where user-generated content is central to the application's functionality, making it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking to compromise large user bases. The impact is further amplified when considering that forum platforms often contain sensitive user information, personal communications, and potentially confidential discussions that could be accessed through exploitation of this vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-47872 must address both immediate remediation and long-term security hardening measures. The most critical action is to upgrade to a patched version of wpForo Forum, as this directly resolves the underlying input sanitization issues that enable the XSS attack. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation mechanisms that properly escape or encode all user-supplied content before rendering it in web pages, following the principle of least privilege and defense in depth. Network-based security controls such as web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by detecting and blocking known malicious script patterns, though these should not be considered a substitute for proper application-level fixes. Security teams should conduct thorough audits of all user-generated content handling mechanisms within the forum platform and implement regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566, representing the use of malicious content to compromise systems, while the remediation efforts should align with defensive techniques such as T1590 for reconnaissance and T1071 for application layer protocols to ensure comprehensive protection against related threats.