Subj : This WordPress plugin vulnerability has put millions of websites
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Wed Feb 28 2024 12:15:05

This WordPress plugin vulnerability has put millions of websites at risk

Date:
Wed, 28 Feb 2024 12:00:47 +0000

Description:
A WordPress plugin was found allowing attackers to elevate privileges, but 
the hole was quickly plugged.

FULL STORY
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A super popular WordPress plugin was found vulnerable to a cross-site 
scripting attack which could allow threat actors to steal sensitive 
information and escalate privileges on websites. 

Security researchers Patchstack discovered the flaw and reported it to the 
developers, before publishing their findings on their blog. 

As per the report, the plugin in question is called LiteSpeed Cache, its a 
website optimization plugin designed to improve website performance. Patch 
available 

The plugin counts more than four million active installations ( The Hacker 
News claims five million). The vulnerability, described as site-wide stored 
XSS flaw, can be exploited by performing a single HTTP request. It is now 
tracked as CVE-2023-40000. 

This vulnerability occurs because the code that handles input from the user 
doesn't implement sanitization and output escaping, the researchers explained 
in the blog . This case also combined with improper access control on one of 
the available REST API endpoints from the plugin. 

Since the discovery, LiteSpeed Caches developers released a patch. Users are 
advised to update their plugins to at least version - 5.7.0.1, and secure 
their websites from potential attackers. The patch became available in 
October last year. The latest version, 6.1, was released on February 5, The 
Hacker News reported. 

WordPress is the worlds number one website builder , powering roughly half of 
the global internet. As such, its a popular target among hackers looking for 
easy ways into databases, where they can steal sensitive data, mount 
malicious advertising campaigns, phishing, and more. Still, WordPress is 
generally considered safe, unlike its many themes and plug-ins which are 
usually considered the weakest link. 

Plugins, especially non-commercial ones, are often developed by small teams 
(or individuals), sometimes abandoned, and usually not maintained 
efficiently. That makes them the ideal entry point for attacks, which is why 
Patchstack, Wordfence, and other WordPress-oriented security firms, often 
report on finding and eliminating bugs in plugins and themes, and not 
WordPress itself. More from TechRadar Pro This top WordPress plugin has a 
major security flaw - and there's no fix yet Here's a list of the best 
firewalls around today These are the best endpoint security tools right now



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/this-wordpress-plugin-vulnerability-has
-put-millions-of-websites-at-risk


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