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Cross-site Scripting occurrences in Fluentsmtp
The FluentSMTP WordPress plugin before 2.0.1 does not sanitize parameters before storing the settings in the database, nor does the plugin escape the values before outputting them when viewing the SMTP settings set by this plugin, leading to a stored cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. Only users with roles capable of managing plugins can modify the plugin's settings. (2021-08-30, CVE-2021-24528)
Why Cross-site Scripting can be dangerous
Cross site scripting is an attack where a web page executes code that is injected by an adversary. It usually appears, when users input is presented. This attack can be used to impersonate a user, take over control of the session, or even steal API keys.
The attack can be executed e.g. when you application injects the request parameter directly into the HTML code of the page returned to the user:
https://server.com/confirmation?message=Transaction+Complete
what results in:
<span>Confirmation: Transaction Complete</span>
In that case the message can be modified to become a valid Javascript code, e.g.:
https://server.com/confirmation?message=<script>dangerous javascript code here</script>
and it will be executed locally by the user's browser with full access to the user's personal application/browser data:
<span>Confirmation: <script>dangerous javascript code here</script></span>