CVE-2024-7778 in Orbit Fox Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/22/2024
The Orbit Fox by ThemeIsle plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via SVG File uploads in all versions up to, and including, 2.10.36 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses the SVG file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/13/2025
The Orbit Fox plugin for WordPress represents a popular suite of tools designed to enhance website functionality through various modules including social sharing, SEO optimization, and performance improvements. This plugin has been widely adopted across the WordPress ecosystem, making its security implications particularly significant for site administrators and developers who rely on its features. The vulnerability identified in versions up to and including 2.10.36 affects the plugin's handling of SVG file uploads, creating a critical security exposure that can be exploited by attackers with relatively low privileges within the WordPress environment.
The technical flaw resides in the insufficient sanitization of user input during the SVG file upload process and the lack of proper output escaping when displaying these files. When an authenticated user with Author-level privileges or higher uploads an SVG file, the plugin fails to adequately validate or sanitize the file contents before storing it in the WordPress media library. This vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly filter or escape potentially malicious content embedded within SVG files, particularly concerning script tags and embedded javascript code. The weakness creates a stored XSS vector because the malicious code becomes permanently embedded within the SVG file itself and executes whenever the file is accessed by any user, regardless of their privilege level.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it allows attackers with minimal privileges to compromise the integrity of WordPress sites and potentially gain access to sensitive user data. An attacker with Author-level access can upload a malicious SVG file that contains embedded javascript code, which will execute in the browser of any user who views the file. This creates a persistent threat that can be used for session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it leverages the trust relationship between the WordPress platform and its media files, allowing attackers to bypass standard security measures that typically protect against XSS attacks. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once a malicious file is uploaded, it can affect all users who access the file, making it a persistent threat that can remain undetected for extended periods.
Organizations should immediately update to the latest version of the Orbit Fox plugin to address this vulnerability, as no patches were available for the affected versions. The recommended mitigation strategy involves implementing strict file validation for all uploaded content, particularly SVG files, and ensuring that proper output escaping is applied to all user-generated content displayed on web pages. Security professionals should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content security policies to add additional layers of protection against similar vulnerabilities. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and represents a specific implementation weakness that violates the principle of least privilege and proper input validation. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.002 for Phishing with Social Engineering and T1584.001 for Compromise of Third-Party Applications, as it exploits a weakness in a widely-used WordPress plugin to gain unauthorized access to user sessions and potentially escalate privileges within the WordPress environment.