DefenseCode ThunderScan SAST Advisory
               WordPress PressForward Plugin
                  Security Vulnerability


Advisory ID:    DC-2017-05-007
Advisory Title: WordPress PressForward Plugin Security Vulnerability
Advisory URL:   http://www.defensecode.com/advisories.php
Software:       WordPress PressForward plugin
Language:       PHP
Version:        4.3.0 and below
Vendor Status:  Vendor contacted
Release Date:   2017/08/07
Risk:           Medium



1. General Overview
===================
During the security audit of PressForward plugin for WordPress CMS,
security vulnerability was discovered using DefenseCode ThunderScan
application source code security analysis platform.

More information about ThunderScan is available at URL:
http://www.defensecode.com


2. Software Overview
====================
According to the plugin developers, PressForward provides an editorial
workflow for content aggregation and curation within the WordPress
dashboard. It is designed for bloggers and editorial teams who wish to
collect, discuss, and share content from a variety of sources on the
open web.

It's users and partners include numerous universities, centers,
laboratories, colleges and various kinds of organizations.

Homepage:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/pressforward/
http://pressforward.org/


3. Vulnerability Description
============================
During the security analysis, ThunderScan discovered Cross-Site
Scripting vulnerability in PressForward WordPress plugin.

The Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability can enable the attacker to
construct the URL that contains malicious JavaScript code. If the
administrator of the site makes a request to such an URL, the
attacker's code will be executed, with unrestricted access to the
WordPress site in question. The attacker can entice the administrator
to visit the URL in various ways, including sending the URL by email,
posting it as a part of the comment on the vulnerable site or another
forum.

The vulnerability was tested using Apache web server.

3.1 Cross-Site Scripting
  Vulnerable Function:  echo
  Vulnerable Variable:  $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']
  Vulnerable URL:      
http://vulnerablesite.com/wp-admin/admin.php/%22%3E%3Cimg%20src=x%20onerror=alert(42)%3E/?page=pf-menu#ready
  File:                 pressforward-master\Core\Admin\PFTemplater.php
  ---------
  198  <form id="feeds-search" method="post" action="<?php echo
basename( $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] ) . '?' . $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] .
'&action=post'; ?>">
  ---------
 

4. Solution
===========
Vendor should resolve the security issues in next release. All users
are strongly advised to update WordPress PressForward plugin to the
latest available version as soon as the vendor releases an update that
fixes the vulnerability.


5. Credits
==========
Discovered with DefenseCode ThunderScan source code security analyzer
by Neven Biruski.

 
6. Disclosure Timeline
======================
2017/05/31      Vendor contacted
2017/08/07   Advisory released to the public


7. About DefenseCode
====================
DefenseCode L.L.C. delivers products and services designed to analyze
and test web, desktop and mobile applications for security
vulnerabilities.

DefenseCode ThunderScan is a SAST (Static Application Security
Testing, WhiteBox Testing) solution for performing extensive security
audits of application source code. ThunderScan SAST performs fast and
accurate analyses of large and complex source code projects delivering
precise results and low false positive rate.

DefenseCode WebScanner is a DAST (Dynamic Application Security
Testing, BlackBox Testing) solution for comprehensive security audits
of active web applications. WebScanner will test a website's security
by carrying out a large number of attacks using the most advanced
techniques, just as a real attacker would.

Subscribe for free software trial on our website
http://www.defensecode.com/ .

E-mail: defensecode[at]defensecode.com

Website: http://www.defensecode.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefenseCode/