📄 Description (English)
The Tuxquote plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'TUXQUOTE' shortcode in versions up to, and including, 1.3. This is due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes ('title', 'align', and 'width') in the tuxquote_build_format() function, which are concatenated into the rendered HTML without being passed through esc_attr() or esc_html(). This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
The Tuxquote WordPress plugin (versions ≤1.3) contains a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the TUXQUOTE shortcode due to insufficient input sanitization. Authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access can inject malicious scripts that execute for all users viewing affected pages. While currently unpatched, the vulnerability requires authenticated access, limiting immediate risk but posing significant threat to WordPress sites with multiple user accounts.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 28, 2026 11:48
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations using WordPress for content management—particularly government agencies, educational institutions, and media organizations—face moderate risk. The vulnerability primarily affects sites with multiple content contributors (common in government portals, university websites, and corporate communications platforms). Banking and financial sectors using WordPress for customer-facing content are at elevated risk due to potential credential theft or malware distribution. Telecom and energy sector websites with contributor-level access represent secondary targets. The stored nature of the XSS means persistent compromise of page integrity until remediation.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government and Public Administration
Education and Universities
Media and Publishing
Banking and Financial Services
Telecommunications
Energy and Utilities
Healthcare
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
5.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Audit all WordPress sites running Tuxquote plugin ≤1.3 and identify pages using the TUXQUOTE shortcode
2. Review user access logs for Contributor-level and above accounts to detect suspicious shortcode modifications
3. Disable the Tuxquote plugin immediately if not critical to operations
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (until patch available):
1. Restrict Contributor-level access to only trusted personnel; audit and remove unnecessary accounts
2. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block XSS payloads in shortcode attributes
3. Enable WordPress security plugins (e.g., Wordfence, Sucuri) with XSS detection capabilities
4. Apply Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent inline script execution
5. Regularly scan published pages for malicious script injection using automated security scanners
DETECTION:
1. Monitor database for TUXQUOTE shortcodes containing script tags or event handlers (onclick, onerror, etc.)
2. Log all modifications to posts/pages containing TUXQUOTE shortcodes
3. Search WordPress post content for patterns: [tuxquote.*script|onerror|onclick|javascript:
PATCHING:
1. Monitor Tuxquote plugin repository for security updates
2. When patch becomes available, immediately update to patched version
3. Test in staging environment before production deployment
4. Verify all TUXQUOTE shortcodes render correctly post-patch
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تدقيق جميع مواقع WordPress التي تعمل بمكون Tuxquote ≤1.3 وتحديد الصفحات التي تستخدم اختصار TUXQUOTE
2. مراجعة سجلات وصول المستخدمين لحسابات مستوى المساهم وما فوقه للكشف عن تعديلات اختصار مريبة
3. تعطيل مكون Tuxquote فوراً إذا لم يكن حرجاً للعمليات
الضوابط التعويضية (حتى توفر التصحيح):
1. تقييد وصول مستوى المساهم للموظفين الموثوقين فقط؛ تدقيق وإزالة الحسابات غير الضرورية
2. تنفيذ قواعد جدار الحماية لتطبيقات الويب للكشف عن حمولات XSS وحجبها في سمات الاختصار
3. تفعيل مكونات أمان WordPress (مثل Wordfence و Sucuri) مع قدرات الكشف عن XSS
4. تطبيق رؤوس سياسة أمان المحتوى (CSP) لمنع تنفيذ البرامج النصية المضمنة
5. مسح الصفحات المنشورة بانتظام للكشف عن حقن البرامج النصية الضارة باستخدام الماسحات الضوئية الآلية
الكشف:
1. مراقبة قاعدة البيانات لاختصارات TUXQUOTE التي تحتوي على علامات البرامج النصية أو معالجات الأحداث
2. تسجيل جميع التعديلات على المنشورات/الصفحات التي تحتوي على اختصارات TUXQUOTE
3. البحث في محتوى منشورات WordPress عن الأنماط: [tuxquote.*script|onerror|onclick|javascript:
التصحيح:
1. مراقبة مستودع مكون Tuxquote للتحديثات الأمنية
2. عند توفر التصحيح، قم بالتحديث فوراً إلى الإصدار المصحح
3. الاختبار في بيئة التجريب قبل نشر الإنتاج
4. التحقق من أن جميع اختصارات TUXQUOTE تُعرض بشكل صحيح بعد التصحيح
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies (input validation and output encoding requirements)
A.6.1.1 - Internal Organization (secure development practices)
A.14.2.1 - Secure Development Policy (secure coding standards)
A.14.2.5 - Secure Development Environment (vulnerability management)
🔵 SAMA CSF
ID.SC-7 - Software, firmware, and information integrity (secure development practices)
PR.DS-6 - Integrity checking mechanisms (input validation and output encoding)
DE.CM-4 - Malicious code detection (XSS payload detection)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.14.2.1 - Secure development policy and procedures
A.14.2.5 - Secure development environment
A.14.3.1 - Separation of development, test and production environments
A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
6.5.1 - Injection flaws (XSS is a form of injection attack)
6.5.7 - Cross-site scripting (XSS)
6.2 - Security patches and updates
🔗 References & Sources 3
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https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tuxquote/tags/1.3/tuxquote.php#L81
security@wordfence.com
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tuxquote/tags/1.3/tuxquote.php#L91
security@wordfence.com
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/7ea6079f-45a1-438f-890f-36457...
security@wordfence.com