CVE-2024-44064
📋 TL;DR
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the LikeBtn Like Button Rating WordPress plugin allows attackers to perform Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. This affects WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of the plugin, potentially allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in users' browsers. Site administrators and users who interact with the affected plugin are at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- LikeBtn Like Button Rating WordPress plugin
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could inject malicious scripts that steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, potentially leading to full site compromise.
Likely Case
Attackers trick authenticated users into clicking malicious links that perform unauthorized actions via the plugin, leading to script injection that affects other users.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF tokens and input validation, the attack would fail, preventing unauthorized actions and script injection.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires tricking an authenticated user into performing an action, but the technical complexity is low once the user is targeted.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.6.55 or later
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Like Button Rating - LikeBtn' and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify the plugin version is 2.6.55 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily deactivate the LikeBtn Like Button Rating plugin to mitigate risk until patched.
wp plugin deactivate likebtn-like-button
Implement CSRF Protection
allAdd custom CSRF tokens to plugin forms if you have development access, but this is not recommended as a long-term solution.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the LikeBtn Like Button Rating plugin immediately to prevent exploitation.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block CSRF and XSS attempts targeting the plugin endpoints.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins. If version is 2.6.54 or lower, it is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get likebtn-like-button --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, confirm the plugin version is 2.6.55 or higher in the WordPress admin plugins list.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or plugin-specific endpoints with suspicious parameters.
- Multiple failed CSRF token validations in WordPress logs.
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected outbound connections from your site to external domains after plugin interactions.
- Spikes in traffic to plugin endpoints from suspicious IPs.
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("likebtn" OR "admin-ajax.php") AND ("csrf" OR "xss" OR "script")