CVE-2021-25080 : What You Need to Know

A vulnerability has been identified in the Contact Form Entries WordPress plugin before version 1.1.7, allowing attackers to execute Cross-Site Scripting attacks.

Understanding CVE-2021-25080

This CVE involves an unauthenticated stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in the Contact Form Entries plugin.

What is CVE-2021-25080?

The Contact Form Entries WordPress plugin before 1.1.7 fails to properly validate, sanitize, and escape the IP address obtained via headers like CLIENT-IP and X-FORWARDED-FOR. This oversight enables unauthenticated attackers to conduct Cross-Site Scripting attacks against logged-in admins viewing the generated entry.

The Impact of CVE-2021-25080

The vulnerability poses a risk of malicious actors injecting arbitrary scripts or content into web pages, potentially leading to account compromise, data theft, or unauthorized actions by administrators.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-25080

This section outlines key technical aspects of the CVE.

Vulnerability Description

The flaw in the Contact Form Entries plugin allows for unauthenticated stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks, endangering site security and user data.

Affected Systems and Versions

Only versions of the Contact Form Entries plugin prior to 1.1.7 are affected. Specifically, version 1.1.7 and earlier are vulnerable to this exploit.

Exploitation Mechanism

By failing to properly handle IP address data sourced from specific headers, the vulnerability enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into the plugin's generated entries.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2021-25080, immediate steps and long-term security practices are necessary.

Immediate Steps to Take

Site administrators should promptly update the Contact Form Entries plugin to version 1.1.7 to mitigate the Cross-Site Scripting risk.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement robust input validation and output encoding practices to prevent Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins.

Patching and Updates

Regularly monitor security advisories and apply plugin updates promptly to safeguard against known vulnerabilities.