CVE-2023-5087 in Pagelayer Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
The Page Builder: Pagelayer WordPress plugin before 1.7.8 doesn't prevent attackers with author privileges and higher from inserting malicious JavaScript inside a post's header or footer code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-5087 affects the Page Builder: Pagelayer WordPress plugin version 1.7.7 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of content management within WordPress environments. This issue specifically targets the plugin's handling of user input within post header and footer code sections, creating a pathway for privilege escalation and cross-site scripting attacks. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient sanitization and validation of user-supplied content, allowing malicious actors with author-level privileges or higher to inject harmful JavaScript code that can execute in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical flaw manifests through the plugin's failure to implement proper input validation and output escaping mechanisms when processing header and footer code fields within WordPress posts. This weakness falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, specifically representing a stored XSS variant where malicious code persists in the database and executes whenever affected pages are rendered. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can leverage their author privileges to inject JavaScript payloads that can steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform unauthorized actions on behalf of logged-in users. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the context of legitimate user sessions, making detection more challenging and the attack surface broader.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code injection, as it enables attackers to compromise the entire WordPress site's security posture. Once an author or higher-privileged user inserts malicious JavaScript into post headers or footers, the code executes whenever any user accesses those pages, potentially affecting all site visitors. This creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited for various malicious purposes including credential theft, session hijacking, defacement, and data exfiltration. The vulnerability particularly affects sites where multiple authors contribute content, as it requires minimal privileges to exploit, making it a significant concern for organizations with less restrictive user management policies. According to ATT&CK framework technique T1546.001, this vulnerability enables the establishment of persistent access through the manipulation of content management systems, while also supporting credential access and execution techniques.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to Pagelayer plugin version 1.7.8 or later, which includes proper input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms to prevent malicious code injection. System administrators should conduct thorough audits of existing posts to identify any potentially compromised header or footer code sections, particularly focusing on content created by users with author privileges or higher. Additional mitigations include implementing strict content validation policies, limiting user privileges to the minimum required for their roles, and establishing regular security monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized content modifications. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation in web applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor security oversights in content management systems can create significant attack vectors. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to provide additional layers of protection against similar vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify and remediate similar weaknesses in other plugins and themes, as this type of vulnerability represents a common pattern in CMS security flaws that can be systematically addressed through proper security development practices.