CVE-2024-38713 in WP Photo Album Plus Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/20/2024
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in J.N. Breetvelt a.K.A. OpaJaap WP Photo Album Plus allows Stored XSS.This issue affects WP Photo Album Plus: from n/a through 8.8.02.002.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/17/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the WP Photo Album Plus plugin for WordPress systems. The issue stems from improper input sanitization during web page generation processes, specifically allowing malicious scripts to be stored and subsequently executed when users view affected pages. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's handling of user-supplied data that gets embedded into web pages without adequate security controls. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious JavaScript code through input fields that are then stored in the system and executed when other users access the affected content. This stored XSS vulnerability enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, defacement, data exfiltration, and redirection to malicious sites.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the plugin's failure to properly escape or filter user input before rendering it within HTML contexts. When users upload photos or enter metadata, the system does not sufficiently validate or sanitize the input data, allowing potentially harmful scripts to persist in the database. The affected version range spans from an unspecified starting point through version 8.8.02.002, indicating this flaw has existed for multiple releases and affects a significant portion of the plugin's user base. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 related to spearphishing attachments that can lead to code injection vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it can compromise entire WordPress installations and user accounts. Attackers can leverage stored XSS to steal administrator credentials, modify website content, inject malicious advertisements, or redirect users to phishing sites. The persistence of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious code continues to execute for all users who view the affected pages until the plugin is updated or the malicious input is removed from the database. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users interact with the photo album functionality, as the attack surface expands with each user who encounters the stored malicious content.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the latest version of WP Photo Album Plus where available, implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious script injection attempts, and conducting thorough input validation across all user-facing interfaces. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing content security policies to prevent script execution in unexpected contexts, and perform regular security audits of installed plugins to identify potential vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization and output encoding in web applications, particularly when handling user-generated content that will be displayed to other users. Security teams should also monitor for exploitation attempts through log analysis and implement proper access controls to limit the potential damage from successful attacks.