CVE-2014-5346 in Comment System
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Disqus Comment System plugin 2.77 for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) activate or (2) deactivate the plugin via the active parameter to wp-admin/edit-comments.php, (3) import comments via an import_comments action, or (4) export comments via an export_comments action to wp-admin/index.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2025
The CVE-2014-5346 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Disqus Comment System plugin version 2.77 for WordPress platforms. This vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user authentication tokens and lacks proper CSRF protection mechanisms in several administrative functions. The flaw exists within the plugin's handling of administrative requests that modify plugin states and manage comment data, creating a pathway for unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows remote attackers to exploit the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in specific administrative endpoints. Attackers can craft malicious requests that target the wp-admin/edit-comments.php endpoint with active parameter modifications, enabling them to activate or deactivate the Disqus plugin without proper authorization. Additionally, the vulnerability extends to import_comments and export_comments actions within wp-admin/index.php, where attackers can manipulate comment data transfers. These functions lack proper authentication verification and token validation, making them susceptible to unauthorized execution of administrative operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for WordPress administrators and site owners who rely on the Disqus plugin for comment management. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gain unauthorized control over plugin activation states, potentially disabling security features or enabling malicious configurations. The import and export functionality presents additional risks as attackers could manipulate comment data, potentially leading to data corruption, unauthorized data exposure, or even the injection of malicious content into comment systems. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of administrative operations within WordPress environments.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of mitigation to address this vulnerability effectively. The immediate solution involves updating to the patched version of the Disqus plugin or removing the vulnerable plugin entirely from affected WordPress installations. Security teams should also implement proper CSRF token validation mechanisms at the application level and establish monitoring for unauthorized administrative actions. According to CWE standards, this vulnerability maps to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with T1078 Valid Accounts and T1566 Phishing techniques, as attackers often leverage compromised administrative credentials or social engineering to exploit such vulnerabilities. Network security controls including web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems should be configured to monitor for suspicious administrative requests and anomalous behavior patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.