A popular WordPress plugin leaked access tokens capable of hijacking Twitter accounts

A popular WordPressplugin, installed on thousands of websites to help users share content on social media sites, left linked Twitteraccounts exposed to compromise.

The plugin, Social Network Tabs, was storing so-called account access tokens in the source code of the WordPress website. Anyone who viewed the source code could see the linked Twitter handle and the access tokens. These access tokens keep you logged in to the website on your phone and your computer without having to re-type your password every time or entering your two-factor authentication code.

But if stolen, most sites can’t differentiate between a token used by the account owner or a hacker who stole the token.

Baptiste Robert, a French security researcher who goes by the online handle Elliot Alderson, found the vulnerability and shared details with TechCrunch. He later tweeted details of the bug on Thursday.

In order to test the bug, Robert found 539