Vulnerabilities > CVE-2020-4049 - Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page (Basic XSS) vulnerability in multiple products
Attack vector
NETWORK Attack complexity
LOW Privileges required
HIGH Confidentiality impact
NONE Integrity impact
LOW Availability impact
NONE Summary
In affected versions of WordPress, when uploading themes, the name of the theme folder can be crafted in a way that could lead to JavaScript execution in /wp-admin on the themes page. This does require an admin to upload the theme, and is low severity self-XSS. This has been patched in version 5.4.2, along with all the previously affected versions via a minor release (5.3.4, 5.2.7, 5.1.6, 5.0.10, 4.9.15, 4.8.14, 4.7.18, 4.6.19, 4.5.22, 4.4.23, 4.3.24, 4.2.28, 4.1.31, 4.0.31, 3.9.32, 3.8.34, 3.7.34).
Vulnerable Configurations
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
- Embedding Scripts in Non-Script Elements This attack is a form of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) where malicious scripts are embedded in elements that are not expected to host scripts such as image tags (<img>), comments in XML documents (< !-CDATA->), etc. These tags may not be subject to the same input validation, output validation, and other content filtering and checking routines, so this can create an opportunity for an attacker to tunnel through the application's elements and launch a XSS attack through other elements. As with all remote attacks, it is important to differentiate the ability to launch an attack (such as probing an internal network for unpatched servers) and the ability of the remote attacker to collect and interpret the output of said attack.
- PHP Remote File Inclusion In this pattern the attacker is able to load and execute arbitrary code remotely available from the application. This is usually accomplished through an insecurely configured PHP runtime environment and an improperly sanitized "include" or "require" call, which the user can then control to point to any web-accessible file. This allows attackers to hijack the targeted application and force it to execute their own instructions.
References
- https://wordpress.org/news/2020/06/wordpress-5-4-2-security-and-maintenance-release/
- https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/security/advisories/GHSA-87h4-phjv-rm6p
- https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/commit/404f397b4012fd9d382e55bf7d206c1317f01148
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4709
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00000.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00011.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ODNHXVJS25YVWYQHOCICXTLIN5UYJFDN/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/773N2ZV7QEMBGKH6FBKI6Q5S3YJMW357/