CVE-2022-0429 in WP Cerber Security, Anti-spam & Malware Scan Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/07/2022
The WP Cerber Security, Anti-spam & Malware Scan WordPress plugin before 8.9.6 does not sanitise the $url variable before using it in an attribute in the Activity tab in the plugins dashboard, leading to an unauthenticated stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/09/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-0429 affects the WP Cerber Security plugin for WordPress, specifically versions prior to 8.9.6. This security flaw represents a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts into the plugin's Activity tab within the WordPress admin dashboard. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization practices within the plugin's codebase, where user-supplied data is directly incorporated into HTML attributes without proper validation or encoding mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the plugin processes the $url variable within the Activity tab functionality. When administrators view the plugin's dashboard, the unsanitized URL parameter gets embedded directly into HTML attributes without appropriate sanitization, creating a persistent XSS vector. This flaw allows attackers to craft malicious URLs that, when processed by the plugin, execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of the victim's browser session. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication to exploit, making it accessible to anyone who can interact with the WordPress site's admin interface.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to WordPress installations using the affected plugin version. An attacker could leverage this stored XSS to steal administrator session cookies, execute malicious commands on behalf of authenticated users, or redirect victims to malicious websites. The impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or establishment of backdoors within the compromised WordPress environment. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious payload persists until the affected plugin is updated or the malicious content is manually removed from the Activity tab.
Organizations should immediately update their WP Cerber Security plugin to version 8.9.6 or later to remediate this vulnerability. The fix implemented in this version addresses the sanitization issue by properly encoding the $url variable before incorporating it into HTML attributes, following established security best practices for preventing XSS attacks. Additionally, administrators should conduct thorough security audits of their WordPress installations to identify any other potentially vulnerable plugins or themes. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and secure input handling. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique for Command and Control through web application exploitation, where attackers can use stored XSS to establish persistent access to compromised systems. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect suspicious traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts and maintain up-to-date threat intelligence regarding similar vulnerabilities in other WordPress plugins.