Stored XSS in Collect.chat WordPress Plugin Allows Script Injection

Executive Summary

The vulnerability in the Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat plugin (versions up to and including 2.4.8) is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issue. It arises because the plugin does not properly sanitize and escape input in the '_inpost_head_script[synth_header_script]' post meta field.

This flaw allows authenticated users with Contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary web scripts into pages. These malicious scripts then execute whenever any user accesses the affected page, potentially compromising site security.

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "The vulnerability involves Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the '_inpost_head_script[synth_header_script]' post meta field in the Collect.chat WordPress plugin versions up to 2.4.8. Detection involves checking for suspicious or malicious script content stored in this post meta field."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "To detect this vulnerability on your WordPress system, you can query the WordPress database for the presence of suspicious script tags or unusual content in the '_inpost_head_script' post meta key."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Use a SQL query to find posts with potentially malicious scripts in the '_inpost_head_script' meta field, for example:"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "SELECT post_id, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_key = '_inpost_head_script' AND meta_value LIKE '%<script>%';"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Check WordPress admin pages for unexpected or unauthorized chatbot scripts inserted via the plugin's meta boxes."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, monitoring HTTP responses for injected scripts originating from the Collect.chat plugin or unexpected script injections on pages can help detect exploitation.'}] [3]

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Impact Analysis

This Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability can lead to several security impacts:

• An attacker with Contributor-level access can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of users visiting the infected pages.
• Such scripts can steal sensitive information like cookies, session tokens, or other private data.
• It can be used to perform actions on behalf of users without their consent, leading to account compromise or unauthorized operations.
• The vulnerability can undermine user trust and damage the reputation of the affected website.

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Mitigation Strategies

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'The primary mitigation step is to update the Collect.chat WordPress plugin to version 2.4.9 or later, where the vulnerability has been addressed with improved input sanitization and output escaping.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Until the update can be applied, restrict Contributor-level and higher user permissions to trusted users only, as the vulnerability requires authenticated users with at least Contributor access to exploit.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Review and clean any suspicious or unauthorized scripts stored in the '_inpost_head_script' post meta fields to remove injected malicious code."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Ensure that WordPress user capabilities are properly configured to prevent unauthorized script insertion, and consider disabling unfiltered HTML capabilities for users who do not require it.'}] [1, 3]

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