CVE-2023-7083 in Voting Record Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/16/2024
The Voting Record WordPress plugin through 2.0 does not have CSRF check in some places, and is missing sanitisation as well as escaping, which could allow attackers to make logged in admin add Stored XSS payloads via a CSRF attack
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-7083 affects the Voting Record WordPress plugin version 2.0 and earlier, presenting a critical security risk that combines multiple weaknesses to enable sophisticated cross-site scripting attacks. This vulnerability stems from the plugin's inadequate implementation of security measures that are fundamental to protecting web applications from malicious input manipulation. The issue manifests through the absence of proper cross-site request forgery validation mechanisms in certain administrative endpoints, combined with insufficient input sanitization and output escaping routines.
The technical flaw exploited in this vulnerability resides in the plugin's failure to implement mandatory CSRF tokens in administrative actions, creating an attack surface where authenticated administrators can be tricked into executing malicious operations without their knowledge or consent. When attackers craft malicious requests and诱导 administrators to click on compromised links or visit malicious websites, they can inject stored XSS payloads into the plugin's administrative interface. This occurs because the plugin does not properly sanitize user-supplied input before processing it, nor does it escape output data before rendering it in the browser context, creating an environment where malicious scripts can persist and execute against other users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to establish persistent backdoors within the WordPress administrative environment. Once an attacker successfully injects stored XSS payloads through a CSRF attack, they can potentially escalate privileges, modify content, steal session cookies, or even compromise the entire WordPress installation. The vulnerability affects the plugin's administrative functionality specifically, making it particularly dangerous for sites where the voting record plugin is used to manage sensitive data or user interactions. The combination of missing CSRF protection with inadequate sanitization creates a perfect storm for attackers to execute sophisticated attacks against authenticated users.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-7083 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the identified security gaps, as this represents the most effective defense against the vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious CSRF patterns, and enforce strict input validation policies that prevent malicious data from entering the system. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and CWE-79, which covers Cross-Site Scripting, making it a compound weakness that requires comprehensive remediation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access through web application attacks and privilege escalation via malicious script execution, highlighting the need for layered security approaches that protect both authentication mechanisms and data integrity.