CVE-2021-24308 : Security Advisory and Response

A stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability has been discovered in the 'State' field of the Edit profile page of the LMS by LifterLMS plugin for WordPress versions prior to 4.21.1. This could be exploited by low privilege users to escalate their privileges via an XSS attack.

Understanding CVE-2021-20657

This CVE highlights a security issue in the LMS by LifterLMS plugin that could potentially allow unauthorized privilege escalation through a Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability.

What is CVE-2021-20657?

The 'State' field of the Edit profile page of the LMS by LifterLMS plugin for WordPress versions before 4.21.1 is not properly sanitized. This can result in a stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability when displayed in the About section of the profile page.

The Impact of CVE-2021-20657

This vulnerability could enable low privilege users, such as students, to increase their privileges via an XSS attack when an administrator views their profile.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-20657

This section provides more in-depth technical insights into the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue arises from the lack of proper sanitization of the 'State' field in the profile page, leading to a stored Cross-Site Scripting problem.

Affected Systems and Versions

LMS by LifterLMS plugin versions prior to 4.21.1 are affected by this vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

Low privilege users can input malicious scripts in the 'State' field, which when viewed by an admin in the profile's About section, triggers the XSS attack.

Mitigation and Prevention

It is crucial to take immediate and long-term security measures to protect systems from CVE-2021-20657.

Immediate Steps to Take

Users are advised to update the LMS by LifterLMS plugin to version 4.21.1 or newer to mitigate the risk of exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement strict input validation and output sanitization practices to prevent XSS vulnerabilities in web applications.

Patching and Updates

Regularly check for plugin updates and security patches to ensure the latest safeguards against known vulnerabilities.