CVE-2024-2159 in Social Sharing Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/26/2024
The Social Sharing Plugin WordPress plugin before 3.3.61 does not validate and escape some of its shortcode attributes before outputting them back in a page/post where the shortcode is embed, which could allow users with the contributor role and above to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/03/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-2159 affects the Social Sharing Plugin for WordPress, specifically versions prior to 3.3.61. This issue represents a critical security flaw that enables stored cross-site scripting attacks through improper input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's shortcode implementation. The vulnerability impacts WordPress environments where the affected plugin is installed and actively used, creating potential attack vectors for malicious actors who possess contributor-level privileges or higher within the WordPress administration system.
The technical flaw manifests in the plugin's handling of shortcode attributes where insufficient validation and sanitization occurs before these attributes are rendered back into the web page content. When users with contributor role or above insert shortcode content containing malicious scripts, the plugin fails to properly escape or validate these inputs before outputting them to the page. This stored XSS vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that persists in the database and executes whenever the affected page is viewed by other users, including administrators who may have higher privileges.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for WordPress sites that rely on the Social Sharing Plugin for content distribution and user engagement features. The ability for contributors to execute stored XSS attacks means that even less privileged users within the WordPress environment can potentially compromise the entire site's security. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of other users, redirect visitors to malicious sites, or extract sensitive information from the WordPress installation. The persistence of the stored script makes this attack particularly dangerous as it continues to execute until the malicious content is removed from the database.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws in software applications. This weakness allows attackers to inject client-side scripts into web applications that are viewed by other users, creating a persistent security threat. The issue also maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 which covers Social Engineering through phishing, as the stored XSS could be used to deliver malicious payloads that exploit user trust in legitimate site functionality. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates characteristics of T1071.001 which involves application layer protocol usage for command and control communications, as the injected scripts could establish communication channels with external malicious servers.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediately updating the Social Sharing Plugin to version 3.3.61 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation and output escaping deficiencies. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including regular security audits of installed plugins, monitoring for unauthorized content modifications, and implementing Content Security Policy headers to reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. Administrators should consider implementing role-based access controls that limit contributor privileges to prevent unauthorized modifications to content that could introduce security vulnerabilities. Regular patch management processes should be enforced to ensure all WordPress components remain up-to-date with the latest security fixes and to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future.