CVE-2023-5932
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious scripts via unsanitized parameters in the Travelpayouts WordPress plugin. When high-privilege users like administrators view pages containing the malicious input, their browsers execute the scripts, potentially leading to session hijacking or administrative actions. WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Travelpayouts: All Travel Brands in One Place WordPress plugin
📦 What is this software?
Travelpayouts by Travelpayouts
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could hijack an administrator's session, gain administrative access to the WordPress site, install backdoors, steal sensitive data, or deface the website.
Likely Case
Attackers could steal administrator session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform limited actions within the administrator's context.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, the vulnerability would be prevented, and impact would be minimal to none.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires tricking an admin into clicking a malicious link; no authentication needed to craft the exploit.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.1.14
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/16fbca64-cc35-455e-bfef-d1f28857f991/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Travelpayouts: All Travel Brands in One Place'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or manually update to version 1.1.14 or later.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable the plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate travelpayouts
Implement WAF rules
allAdd web application firewall rules to block XSS payloads targeting the vulnerable parameter.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict admin access to trusted networks only to reduce exposure to malicious links.
- Educate administrators about phishing risks and not clicking untrusted links.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins; if version is below 1.1.14, it is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get travelpayouts --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, confirm the plugin version is 1.1.14 or higher in the same location.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual GET requests with script tags or JavaScript in query parameters to pages using the Travelpayouts plugin.
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing suspicious strings like <script>alert()</script> in URLs targeting the plugin.
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="*travelpayouts*" AND (query="*<script>*" OR query="*javascript:*")