Overview
This report discusses the vulnerability CVE-2024-13926, which affects the WP-Syntax WordPress plugin version 1.2 and earlier. This vulnerability could potentially lead to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack due to a catastrophic backtracking issue in regular expression processing. It’s significant because of the potential for system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2024-13926
Severity: High (7.5 CVSS)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage due to DoS attacks
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
WP-Syntax WordPress Plugin | Version 1.2 and earlier
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability resides in the improper handling of user input within the WP-Syntax WordPress plugin. An attacker can create a post containing a large number of tags, which triggers a catastrophic backtracking issue in the regular expression processing. This could lead to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, potentially rendering the system unavailable or leaking sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability using a large number of tags in a WordPress post:
POST /wp-admin/post-new.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
post_title=Exploit&content=[place large number of tags here]&post_status=publishIn the above example, the ‘content’ parameter is filled with an excessive number of tags, causing the WP-Syntax plugin to backtrack excessively during regex processing, leading to a DoS condition.
Mitigation
Users of the WP-Syntax WordPress plugin are advised to apply vendor patches as soon as they become available. In the interim, the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation against potential attacks exploiting this vulnerability.