CVE-2014-5347 in Comment System
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Disqus Comment System plugin before 2.76 for WordPress allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via the (1) disqus_replace, (2) disqus_public_key, or (3) disqus_secret_key parameter to wp-admin/edit-comments.php in manage.php or that (4) reset or (5) delete plugin options via the reset parameter to wp-admin/edit-comments.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/08/2025
The CVE-2014-5347 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery issue within the Disqus Comment System plugin for WordPress, affecting versions prior to 2.76. This vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of user requests within the administrative interface, specifically targeting the wp-admin/edit-comments.php endpoint. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate administrative sessions by crafting malicious requests that leverage the plugin's parameters to execute unauthorized actions. The vulnerability manifests through multiple attack vectors including the disqus_replace, disqus_public_key, and disqus_secret_key parameters, which when manipulated can enable attackers to inject malicious code or alter plugin configurations. The core technical issue lies in the plugin's failure to properly implement anti-CSRF tokens or validate the origin of requests originating from the WordPress admin interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass full administrative control over affected WordPress installations. Attackers can exploit these CSRF flaws to inject malicious scripts through the XSS vector, potentially leading to complete compromise of the blog or website. The vulnerability affects the plugin's ability to securely manage its configuration options, allowing unauthorized modification of critical settings through the reset and delete parameters. This creates a dangerous scenario where malicious actors can not only manipulate comment settings but also potentially disable security features or redirect traffic to malicious destinations. The attack requires minimal user interaction since administrators are often logged into their WordPress admin panels, making the exploitation particularly dangerous in environments where administrators regularly access their sites.
Security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and insufficient session management practices that violate fundamental web security principles. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique through web application vulnerabilities, specifically targeting the web application layer to gain elevated privileges. The vulnerability's exploitation path follows the typical CSRF attack pattern where an attacker crafts a malicious request that appears legitimate to the WordPress admin interface due to the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations using affected versions of the Disqus plugin face significant risk of data compromise, unauthorized content modification, and potential hosting infrastructure compromise.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of the Disqus plugin to version 2.76 or later, which includes proper CSRF token implementation and enhanced parameter validation. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as role-based access controls, regular security audits of installed plugins, and monitoring for unauthorized configuration changes. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and security headers can provide additional defense-in-depth layers. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining current plugin versions and implementing comprehensive security monitoring for administrative interfaces. Organizations should conduct regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar CSRF issues in other plugins and core WordPress components, as this vulnerability demonstrates the widespread nature of CSRF flaws in content management systems.