CVE-2024-4473 in Sydney Toolbox Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/14/2024
The Sydney Toolbox plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the "aThemes: Portfolio" widget in all versions up to, and including, 1.31 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2025
The Sydney Toolbox plugin for WordPress represents a widely used toolkit that enhances website functionality through various widgets and features. This particular vulnerability affects versions up to and including 1.31, where the "aThemes: Portfolio" widget demonstrates a critical security flaw that compromises user safety. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by malicious actors with appropriate privileges.
The technical flaw manifests through the improper handling of user-supplied attributes within the portfolio widget functionality. When authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher submit data through the widget interface, the plugin fails to adequately sanitize or escape this input before storing and subsequently rendering it on web pages. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that persists within the plugin's data storage. The vulnerability operates as a stored cross-site scripting attack because the malicious payload is saved to the database and executed whenever any user accesses pages containing the compromised content, making it particularly dangerous for widespread impact.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or display issues, as it provides attackers with the capability to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of affected websites. Contributors and above typically have sufficient permissions to modify content and widgets, making this attack vector particularly concerning for WordPress installations that maintain multiple user roles. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited, malicious scripts will continue to execute for all users who access affected pages, potentially leading to session hijacking, data exfiltration, or further compromise of the WordPress installation. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which describes Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious content.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate action from administrators, including updating to the latest version of the Sydney Toolbox plugin where the XSS flaw has been addressed. System administrators should also implement additional security measures such as restricting contributor-level user permissions where possible, implementing content security policies to limit script execution, and monitoring user activities for suspicious widget modifications. Regular security audits of installed plugins and themes should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities, with particular attention to input validation and output escaping mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and automated scanning tools to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while maintaining comprehensive backup strategies to ensure rapid recovery in case of successful attacks. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper input sanitization and output escaping in web applications, particularly in content management systems where user-generated content processing is common.