Exploitation Research Plan - CVE-2025-68871 (Dooodl)

1. Vulnerability Summary

The Dooodl plugin for WordPress (versions <= 2.3.0) is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The vulnerability exists because the plugin accepts user-controlled input via URL parameters and reflects it into the web page without proper sanitization (using sanitize_text_field or similar) or context-aware escaping (using esc_html, esc_attr, or esc_js). This allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of a user's browser session by tricking them into clicking a crafted link.

2. Attack Vector Analysis

• Endpoint: Any frontend page or post containing the [dooodl] shortcode, or plugin-specific display pages.
• Vulnerable Parameter: id (inferred) or doodle (inferred).
• Authentication: None (Unauthenticated).
• Preconditions: A page must be published containing the [dooodl] shortcode to trigger the vulnerable code path.

3. Code Flow (Inferred)

1. Entry Point: The user visits a URL such as http://site.com/?id=<payload>.
2. Processing: The plugin's shortcode handler (likely registered via add_shortcode( 'dooodl', ... )) or a frontend initialization hook (like init or wp_enqueue_scripts) accesses the parameter directly via $_GET['id'].
3. Variable Assignment: The raw value is assigned to a variable used for rendering the drawing canvas or passed to a localized JavaScript object.
4. Sink: The value is echoed into the HTML. Common sinks in this plugin type include:
   • Inside an HTML attribute: echo '<div id="dooodl-' . $_GET['id'] . '">';
   • Inside a script tag via wp_localize_script: wp_localize_script('dooodl-js', 'dooodl_vars', array('id' => $_GET['id']));
   • Inside a hidden input field.

4. Nonce Acquisition Strategy

Reflected XSS in GET parameters typically occurs during the initial page render and often does not require a nonce for the reflection itself. However, if the plugin requires a nonce to initialize its scripts, follow this strategy:

1. Identify Shortcode: The primary shortcode is [dooodl].
2. Setup Page: Create a test page with the shortcode to ensure all plugin assets and parameters are loaded.
3. Identify JS Variable: Look for the localization key. Based on common patterns, it is likely dooodl_settings or dooodl_params (inferred).
4. Extraction:
   • Use browser_navigate to the page.
   • Use browser_eval("window.dooodl_params?.nonce") (inferred) to check for available nonces if needed for subsequent AJAX actions.

5. Exploitation Strategy

1. Discovery: Locate a page with the [dooodl] shortcode.
2. Payload Crafting:
   • If reflected in an attribute: ?id=123" onmouseover="alert(domain)"
   • If reflected in a JS block: ?id=123"};alert(document.domain);//
   • Generic breakout: ?id="><script>alert(document.domain)</script>
3. Request: Perform a GET request to the target page with the payload using http_request.
4. Verification: Search the response body for the unescaped payload string.

6. Test Data Setup

1. Requirement: The plugin must be active.
2. Post Creation:

   wp post create --post_type=page --post_title="Doodle Page" --post_status=publish --post_content='[dooodl]'
   

3. Note the URL: The resulting page URL (e.g., /doodle-page/) will be the target for the reflection.

7. Expected Results

• The HTTP response should contain the literal payload string.
• Example: If the request is GET /doodle-page/?id=%22%3E%3Cscript%3Ealert(1)%3C/script%3E, the source code of the returned page should contain "><script>alert(1)</script> instead of properly encoded ">....

8. Verification Steps

1. Manual Source Check:

   # Use the execution agent's http_request to fetch the page
   # Look for the payload in the raw HTML response
   

2. Browser Confirmation: Use the browser_navigate tool to the crafted URL and check for an alert dialog or evidence of script execution in the console/DOM.

9. Alternative Approaches

• Search Parameter: Check if the plugin registers a custom query variable for searching doodles (e.g., ?s_doodle=<payload>).
• Admin Reflection: Check if the id parameter is reflected in the WordPress admin dashboard (e.g., wp-admin/admin.php?page=dooodl&id=<payload>). This would require an active admin session but would increase severity.
• AJAX Reflection: If the reflection happens via an AJAX call, check admin-ajax.php?action=dooodl_get_data&id=<payload>. This would likely require the nopriv handler for unauthenticated access.