CVE-2023-48752 in Form Builder to Get in Touch with Visitors Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/30/2023
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Happyforms Form builder to get in touch with visitors, grow your email list and collect payments — Happyforms allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Form builder to get in touch with visitors, grow your email list and collect payments — Happyforms: from n/a through 1.25.9.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2023
The CVE-2023-48752 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Happyforms WordPress plugin, which is designed to facilitate form creation for visitor engagement, email list building, and payment collection. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically manifesting as a reflected XSS attack vector that can compromise user sessions and execute malicious code within the victim's browser context. The vulnerability exists in the plugin's web page generation process where input parameters are not properly sanitized before being rendered back to users, creating an exploitable pathway for attackers to inject malicious scripts.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when malicious actors craft specially crafted URLs containing script payloads that are then reflected back to unsuspecting users who click on these links. When the vulnerable plugin processes these inputs during page generation, it fails to neutralize the malicious content properly, allowing the injected scripts to execute within the user's browser session. This reflected XSS vulnerability can be leveraged to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirect victims to malicious websites. The affected versions range from the initial release through 1.25.9, indicating a substantial attack surface that has remained unpatched for an extended period.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities including session hijacking, data theft, and privilege escalation within the affected WordPress environment. Users who interact with forms created through Happyforms could unknowingly trigger the execution of malicious scripts, potentially compromising their authentication tokens and enabling unauthorized access to their accounts. The vulnerability's presence in a plugin that handles payment collection makes it particularly dangerous as it could be used to steal sensitive financial information or manipulate transaction data. This risk is compounded by the fact that reflected XSS attacks can be delivered through various vectors including email phishing campaigns, social media links, or compromised websites that direct traffic to vulnerable forms.
Security practitioners should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability by updating to the latest version of the Happyforms plugin where the XSS sanitization has been properly implemented. The mitigation strategy should include input validation at multiple layers, including server-side parameter sanitization and output encoding of all user-provided content. Organizations should also implement Content Security Policy headers to add an additional layer of protection against script injection attacks. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, and user education regarding the dangers of clicking untrusted links should be reinforced. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 (Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment) and T1584.002 (Compromise Infrastructure: Domain Generation) as attackers may use this vulnerability to establish persistent access through malicious form submissions or to redirect users to compromised domains. The vulnerability also aligns with T1059.007 (Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript) as the exploitation relies on JavaScript execution within the browser context.