Stored XSS in Extra Settings for RocketChat WordPress Plugin

Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access to inject arbitrary web scripts via stored cross-site scripting (XSS). This can lead to unauthorized access to user data or session hijacking, potentially compromising the confidentiality and integrity of personal or sensitive information.

Such a compromise could impact compliance with standards and regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require protection of personal data and secure handling of user information to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure.

However, the provided context does not explicitly state the direct effects on compliance with these standards.

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Executive Summary

The Extra Settings for RocketChat plugin for WordPress has a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in its 'rocketchat' shortcode's 'title' attribute in versions up to and including 0.1.

This vulnerability occurs because the plugin does not properly sanitize or escape user input in the rxstg_shortcode() function, which directly inserts the user-supplied 'title' attribute into HTML output.

As a result, authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that will execute whenever any user views the affected page.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can allow attackers with contributor-level access to inject arbitrary web scripts into pages.

These scripts execute in the context of users who visit the injected pages, potentially leading to theft of user credentials, session hijacking, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users.

Because the attack requires authenticated access, it may be used to escalate privileges or compromise site integrity.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves the Extra Settings for RocketChat plugin for WordPress, specifically the 'rocketchat' shortcode's 'title' attribute being vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Detection would involve identifying if the vulnerable plugin version (up to and including 0.1) is installed and if any pages contain injected scripts via the 'title' attribute.

Since the vulnerability requires authenticated contributor-level access or above to inject scripts, detection can include reviewing user inputs and stored content for suspicious script tags or unusual HTML in pages using the 'rocketchat' shortcode.

There are no specific commands provided in the available resources to detect this vulnerability on your system or network.

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Mitigation Strategies

The vulnerability is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping in the rxstg_shortcode() function of the Extra Settings for RocketChat plugin for WordPress.

Immediate mitigation steps include:

• Restrict contributor-level and higher user permissions to trusted users only, as only authenticated users with these permissions can exploit the vulnerability.
• Remove or disable the Extra Settings for RocketChat plugin if it is not essential.
• Monitor and sanitize any user-generated content that uses the 'rocketchat' shortcode, especially the 'title' attribute.
• Apply any available patches or updates from the plugin developer once released.

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