The popular WordPress plugin, Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings (https://www.rankmath.com), has been identified with a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. All versions up to and including 1..35 are affected by this vulnerability. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user-supplied attributes in the plugin's Rank Math API. This allows authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access or above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages. Whenever a user accesses an injected page, the scripts will execute, which could have serious consequences for both the website and its visitors.

Exploit Details

Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a type of vulnerability that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. In the case of Rank Math SEO plugin, the vulnerability lies in the plugin's API, which fails to properly sanitize and escape user-supplied attributes. As a result, an attacker with contributor-level access to a WordPress site can inject arbitrary web scripts into pages that use the Rank Math API.

Here is an example of a malicious script injection using the Rank Math API

<script>function exploit() {alert('XSS Injection!');}exploit();</script>

This could be injected into the following Rank Math API call

[rank_math]function exploit() {alert('XSS Injection!');}exploit();[/rank_math]

When a user visits a page containing the injected script, their browser will execute the malicious script, potentially causing harm to their system and allowing the attacker to gain unauthorized access to their information.

1. Rank Math SEO Plugin Homepage: https://www.rankmath.com
2. Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Explanation: https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/xss
3. CVE: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-13227

To mitigate this vulnerability, site administrators should implement the following measures

1. Update the Rank Math SEO plugin to the latest version, which contains patches for this vulnerability.
2. Implement proper input sanitization and output escaping on all user-supplied attributes, to prevent attackers from injecting malicious scripts.
3. Restrict contributor-level access to trusted individuals and educate them about the risks associated with script injections.
4. Regularly scan and monitor your WordPress website for vulnerabilities and apply security updates as needed.

Conclusion

The CVE-2024-13227 stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the Rank Math SEO plugin for WordPress poses a considerable risk to site administrators and visitors. By following the mitigation steps outlined above, you can help protect your website from potential attacks and ensure a safer browsing experience for your users.

Timeline

Published on: 02/13/2025 05:15:13 UTC
Last modified on: 02/24/2025 16:44:13 UTC