CVE-2014-10382 in feature-comments Plugin
Summary
by MITRE
The feature-comments plugin before 1.2.5 for WordPress has CSRF for featuring or burying a comment.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/28/2023
The CVE-2014-10382 vulnerability affects the feature-comments plugin for WordPress systems prior to version 1.2.5, representing a critical cross-site request forgery weakness that compromises the integrity of comment management operations. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's ability to feature or bury comments, which are fundamental administrative functions within WordPress comment moderation systems. The flaw allows malicious actors to manipulate these comment states without proper user consent or authentication, potentially leading to unauthorized content manipulation and disruption of community discussions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens in the plugin's comment management endpoints. When administrators or authorized users perform actions to feature or bury comments, the plugin fails to validate that these requests originate from legitimate sources within the authenticated session. This omission creates an exploitable condition where attackers can craft malicious web pages or emails containing embedded requests that automatically execute these comment management functions when victims visit compromised sites or click malicious links. The vulnerability operates at the web application level, exploiting the trust relationship between the WordPress platform and its users who are logged into administrative sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple comment manipulation to potentially compromise entire WordPress installations through cascading effects on user trust and content integrity. Attackers can exploit this weakness to bury legitimate user comments while promoting spam or malicious content, effectively manipulating the discourse within WordPress communities. The vulnerability particularly affects sites that rely heavily on user-generated content and community moderation, as it undermines the administrator's ability to maintain control over comment visibility and quality. Additionally, the attack can be executed with minimal technical expertise, making it particularly dangerous for widespread exploitation across multiple WordPress installations.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including prompt plugin updates to version 1.2.5 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF token validation mechanisms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery as a critical web application security weakness requiring proper request origin verification. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and manipulation of user data, specifically targeting the T1078 credential access and T1566 initial access categories. Security administrators should also consider implementing additional defensive measures such as web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious comment management requests, along with monitoring for unusual patterns in comment state changes that might indicate exploitation attempts.