Executive Summary

The Child Height Predictor by Ostheimer plugin for WordPress has a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in all versions up to and including 1.3. This happens because the plugin's options() function, which updates plugin settings, lacks proper nonce verification. Specifically, the form template does not include a wp_nonce_field() call, and the handler does not call check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce(). As a result, an attacker can trick a site administrator into clicking a malicious link or visiting a harmful page that submits a forged POST request, leading to unauthorized changes in the plugin settings.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should update the Child Height Predictor by Ostheimer plugin to a version later than 1.3 where nonce verification is properly implemented.

If an update is not immediately available, avoid clicking on suspicious links or visiting untrusted pages while logged in as a site administrator, as the vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to trick administrators into submitting forged POST requests.

Additionally, consider applying custom patches to add nonce verification in the options() function and ensure the form template includes a wp_nonce_field() call, along with calls to check_admin_referer() or wp_verify_nonce() in the handler.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to cause unauthorized changes to the plugin settings by tricking an administrator into submitting a forged request. For example, attackers can change unit preferences or other plugin options stored in the database without the administrator's consent. While it does not directly compromise data confidentiality or availability, it can lead to integrity issues by altering plugin behavior unexpectedly.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves a missing nonce verification in the Child Height Predictor plugin for WordPress, allowing unauthorized POST requests to update plugin settings. Detection typically involves monitoring for suspicious POST requests to the plugin's settings endpoint that lack proper nonce tokens.

Since the vulnerability is related to missing nonce verification in the options() function, you can detect attempts by inspecting HTTP POST requests targeting the plugin's settings update URL for absence of nonce parameters.

On the system or network level, you can use tools like tcpdump or Wireshark to capture HTTP traffic and filter for POST requests to the plugin's settings endpoint.

• Example tcpdump command to capture HTTP POST requests: tcpdump -i any -A 'tcp port 80 and (((ip[2:2] - ((ip[0]&0xf)<<2)) - ((tcp[12]&0xf0)>>2)) != 0)' | grep 'POST'
• Use grep or similar tools on web server logs to find POST requests to the plugin's options update URL without nonce parameters.

Additionally, reviewing WordPress logs or enabling debug logging for the plugin may help identify unauthorized settings changes.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to perform Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks that can cause unauthorized changes to plugin settings. While the CVE description does not explicitly mention impacts on compliance with standards such as GDPR or HIPAA, unauthorized changes to settings could potentially lead to misconfigurations affecting data handling or security controls.

However, there is no direct information provided about how this vulnerability specifically impacts compliance with common regulations like GDPR or HIPAA.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0