CVE-2023-5932 in Travelpayouts Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/15/2025
The Travelpayouts: All Travel Brands in One Place WordPress plugin before 1.1.14 does not sanitise and escape a parameter before outputting it back in the page, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting which could be used against high privilege users such as admin
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/16/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-5932 affects the Travelpayouts WordPress plugin, specifically versions prior to 1.1.14, presenting a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw that poses significant risks to administrative users. This issue stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the plugin's codebase, creating an exploitable condition where malicious payloads can be injected and executed within the browser context of authenticated users.
The technical flaw manifests when the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape user-supplied parameters before incorporating them into HTML output within web pages. This improper handling creates a reflected XSS vulnerability where an attacker can craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that are then reflected back to users who click on the crafted links. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it targets high-privilege users such as administrators, meaning successful exploitation could lead to complete compromise of the WordPress installation. When administrators interact with the maliciously crafted URLs, their browser sessions become vulnerable to script injection attacks that can steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions, or redirect users to malicious sites.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability represents a severe threat to WordPress site security and user privacy. The reflected nature of the XSS means that attackers need only convince victims to click on malicious links to execute their payloads, making the attack vector relatively simple to exploit. Administrative users who visit pages containing the vulnerable parameter are at risk of having their privileges compromised, potentially allowing attackers to modify content, install malware, or gain persistent access to the site. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond immediate script execution, as it can serve as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks within the WordPress environment.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes Cross-Site Scripting flaws in software applications, and demonstrates a clear violation of secure coding practices that should be enforced throughout the application development lifecycle. This weakness can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers the use of malicious links in phishing attacks, and T1059.007, which involves script-based execution through web browsers. Organizations using the affected plugin version should immediately implement mitigation measures including updating to version 1.1.14 or later, implementing proper input validation, and establishing content security policies to limit the impact of potential exploitation attempts.
The remediation approach should prioritize immediate plugin updates to the patched version, while also implementing additional security measures such as input validation at multiple layers, output escaping for all dynamic content, and regular security audits of third-party plugins. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads, while conducting thorough vulnerability assessments of their WordPress installations to identify other potentially vulnerable components. Regular monitoring of security advisories and maintaining up-to-date security practices are essential for preventing similar vulnerabilities from compromising the overall security posture of WordPress environments.