CVE-2023-54358: adivaha Travel Plugin XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2023-54358 Overview

WordPress adivaha Travel Plugin version 2.3 contains a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts by manipulating the isMobile parameter. This vulnerability enables attackers to craft malicious URLs containing JavaScript payloads in the isMobile GET parameter at the /mobile-app/v3/ endpoint to execute arbitrary code in victims' browsers and steal session tokens or credentials.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of authenticated users' browser sessions, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or further attacks against site administrators.

Affected Products

• WordPress adivaha Travel Plugin version 2.3
• WordPress installations running the vulnerable plugin version

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-09 - CVE CVE-2023-54358 published to NVD
• 2026-04-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-54358

Vulnerability Analysis

This reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability exists due to improper input validation and output encoding in the adivaha Travel Plugin for WordPress. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the isMobile GET parameter before reflecting it back in the HTTP response. When a victim clicks on a specially crafted URL, the malicious JavaScript payload executes within the security context of the affected WordPress site.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation), which represents a fundamental failure to sanitize untrusted data before including it in web output. This allows attackers to inject client-side scripts that execute when rendered by a victim's browser.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of proper input sanitization and output encoding for the isMobile parameter in the /mobile-app/v3/ endpoint. The plugin directly incorporates user-supplied data into the HTML response without applying appropriate encoding functions such as esc_html() or esc_attr(), which are standard WordPress functions designed to prevent XSS attacks. This failure to follow secure coding practices allows arbitrary JavaScript code to be injected and executed.

Attack Vector

The attack requires social engineering to lure victims into clicking a malicious URL. An attacker crafts a URL targeting a vulnerable WordPress site with the adivaha Travel Plugin, embedding a JavaScript payload in the isMobile GET parameter. When an authenticated user (particularly an administrator) clicks this link, the malicious script executes in their browser session with full access to the WordPress site's DOM and cookies.

Typical attack scenarios include:

• Stealing administrator session cookies to hijack WordPress admin sessions
• Redirecting users to phishing pages designed to capture credentials
• Injecting keyloggers to capture sensitive information
• Performing actions on behalf of the authenticated user within the WordPress admin panel

Technical details and proof-of-concept information are available in the Exploit-DB #51663 entry.

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-54358

Indicators of Compromise

• Suspicious GET requests to /mobile-app/v3/ containing script tags or encoded JavaScript in the isMobile parameter
• HTTP requests with URL-encoded characters such as %3Cscript%3E or javascript: in query parameters
• Web server logs showing unusual payloads in the isMobile parameter with encoded brackets or event handlers
• Reports of unexpected browser behavior or redirections from users visiting the WordPress site

Detection Strategies

• Configure Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block XSS payloads in the isMobile parameter
• Implement log monitoring for requests to /mobile-app/v3/ containing suspicious patterns such as <script>, onerror=, or javascript:
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity XDR to detect post-exploitation behavior resulting from successful XSS attacks
• Enable WordPress security plugins with XSS detection capabilities to monitor and alert on suspicious requests

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for anomalous requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint
• Set up alerts for HTTP 200 responses to requests containing potential XSS payloads in query strings
• Review Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution attempts
• Track user session anomalies that may indicate session hijacking following XSS exploitation

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-54358

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the adivaha Travel Plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• If no patch is available, consider temporarily disabling the plugin until a fix is released
• Implement WAF rules to block requests containing XSS payloads in the isMobile parameter
• Review web server logs for evidence of exploitation attempts and investigate any suspicious activity

Patch Information

Check the WordPress Plugin Directory for the latest version of the adivaha Travel Plugin with security fixes applied. Additionally, consult the VulnCheck Advisory and the Adivaha Website for official vendor communications regarding this vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers with strict script-src directives to mitigate the impact of XSS attacks
• Configure ModSecurity or similar WAF with rules to filter XSS payloads from the isMobile parameter
• Restrict access to the /mobile-app/v3/ endpoint via .htaccess or server configuration if the functionality is not required
• Educate users and administrators about the risks of clicking untrusted links

# Apache .htaccess configuration to block suspicious requests to vulnerable endpoint
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} isMobile=.*(<|%3C|script|javascript:|onerror) [NC]
    RewriteRule ^mobile-app/v3/ - [F,L]
</IfModule>