On February 2024, a critical vulnerability was discovered in the Kognetiks Chatbot for WordPress plugin that could allow remote attackers to inject and execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of affected websites. This vulnerability has been tracked as CVE-2024-10684 and affects all versions up to and including 2.1.7.

In this article, we explain this vulnerability in simple terms, show how it can be exploited, and provide actionable steps to secure your website.

What is CVE-2024-10684?

CVE-2024-10684 is a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Kognetiks Chatbot for WordPress. Attackers can exploit this flaw via the dir parameter, because the plugin does not properly clean or encode the parameter provided by the user.

This means malicious JavaScript can be injected into a browser if an attacker tricks a user into clicking a crafted link. The attack does not require authentication—even logged-out users are potentially at risk.

Here's how the attack works

1. Vulnerable Endpoint: The plugin exposes a URL parameter called dir. When this parameter is used, its value is echoed back onto the page, without proper escaping/sanitization.
2. Attack Vector: An attacker crafts a URL containing a malicious JavaScript payload as the value for dir.

Social Engineering: The attacker sends this link to a victim (e.g., in an email or forum post).

4. Exploit: When the victim clicks the link, the script is reflected and runs within the user's browser, in the context of the WordPress site.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

Below is a demonstration of how a malicious URL could be constructed. Replace example.com with the target WordPress site domain where the Kognetiks Chatbot plugin is installed:

https://example.com/wp-content/plugins/kognetiks-chatbot/somefile.php?dir=%22%3E%3Cscript%3Ealert('XSS')%3C/script%3E

%3E is a greater than (>)

- %3Cscript%3Ealert('XSS')%3C/script%3E is <script>alert('XSS')</script>

How it works

When a victim visits the URL, the value of dir gets inserted into the HTML without escaping, effectively injecting the JavaScript code which then executes. In this PoC, you'll see an alert box with the message "XSS".

Example PHP snippet showing the issue (pseudocode)

// This is an illustrative example, actual plugin code may look different
$dir = $_GET['dir'];
echo '<div class="chatbot-container" dir="'.$dir.'">';

If dir is set to "><script>alert('XSS')</script>, the generated HTML becomes

<div class="chatbot-container" dir=""><script>alert('XSS')</script>">

This results in the JavaScript executing as soon as the page loads.

Deface website content or perform other malicious actions

Since no login is required to perform this attack, even public-facing websites with this plugin are at risk.

Official References

- WordPress Plugin Repository – Kognetiks Chatbot
- WPScan Vulnerability Entry *(if available)*
- NIST National Vulnerability Database – CVE-2024-10684

Remediation Steps

1. Update the Plugin:
Check for plugin updates. If a newer version is available, update immediately. At the time of writing, 2.1.7 and lower are vulnerable. Download the latest version from the WordPress plugin page.

2. Disable or Remove the Plugin:
If no update is available, disable or remove the Kognetiks Chatbot plugin until the vendor releases a patch.

3. Web Application Firewall (WAF):
If your site is behind a WAF (e.g., Sucuri, Wordfence), ensure XSS protection is enabled.

4. Monitor Security Feeds:
Subscribe to plugin vulnerability feeds or use services like WPScan to stay informed.

For developers, always use output encoding and input sanitization. In PHP/WordPress

// Use esc_attr() to escape attribute context
$dir = isset($_GET['dir']) ? sanitize_text_field($_GET['dir']) : '';
echo '<div class="chatbot-container" dir="'.esc_attr($dir).'">';

WordPress provides several escaping functions for these purposes.

Conclusion

CVE-2024-10684 highlights the importance of proper input validation and output escaping in plugin development. Site admins should update the Kognetiks Chatbot plugin immediately, or disable it to prevent exploitation. Attackers are increasingly targeting plugins, so stay vigilant and keep your software up to date.

*Did you find this advisory helpful? Follow trusted security blogs and vulnerability databases to keep your WordPress site safe!*


*Exclusive write-up by AI. If sharing or referencing, please link back to the original sources above.*

Timeline

Published on: 11/13/2024 03:15:04 UTC
Last modified on: 11/18/2024 15:03:08 UTC