Countdown Timer Widget Countdown Stored Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

A stored cross-site scripting vulnerability has been identified in the Countdown Timer - Widget Countdown plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions through 2.7.7. The issue arises from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping on user-supplied attributes within the 'wpdevart_countdown' shortcode. This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary web scripts into pages, which are executed when users access the affected page.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability allows for stored cross-site scripting, where injected scripts are executed in the context of the user viewing the page.

Reproduction

To reproduce this vulnerability, an authenticated user with contributor-level access or higher can use the 'wpdevart_countdown' shortcode without proper sanitization. After injecting a script through the shortcode, the script will execute when the page is viewed.

Remediation

Users are advised to update the Countdown Timer - Widget Countdown plugin to version 2.7.8 or a newer patched version.