CVE-2022-0625 in Admin Menu Editor Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/09/2022
The Admin Menu Editor WordPress plugin through 1.0.4 does not sanitize and escape a parameter before outputting it back in an admin page, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-0625 affects the Admin Menu Editor WordPress plugin version 1.0.4 and earlier, presenting a critical reflected cross-site scripting risk that could compromise administrator sessions and enable unauthorized access to sensitive administrative functions. This issue arises from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the plugin's administrative interface where user-supplied parameters are directly incorporated into HTML responses without proper escaping mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the plugin processes parameters from HTTP requests and outputs them back to the browser without adequate sanitization, creating an attack surface that malicious actors can exploit to inject malicious scripts into the admin environment.
The technical flaw stems from the plugin's failure to implement proper output escaping routines when handling user input within administrative contexts. According to CWE-79, this represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability where malicious payloads are injected through URL parameters or form fields and executed in the victim's browser when the affected page is loaded. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no authentication to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered by simply visiting a maliciously crafted URL that contains the XSS payload. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious script is reflected off the web server rather than being stored on the server, making it difficult to detect through traditional security scanning methods.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, potentially enabling attackers to escalate privileges, steal administrator cookies, hijack sessions, and gain full control over WordPress installations. Attackers can craft malicious URLs that, when visited by administrators, execute scripts that can steal session tokens, redirect users to phishing sites, or perform unauthorized administrative actions on behalf of the compromised user. This vulnerability directly maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566.001 for spearphishing attachment, as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to deliver malicious payloads through carefully crafted administrative interfaces. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the vulnerability affects a widely used plugin, potentially exposing numerous WordPress installations to remote code execution or complete system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of the affected plugin to version 1.0.5 or later, which addresses the sanitization issue through proper input validation and output escaping mechanisms. Organizations should implement additional protective measures including web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious script patterns in HTTP requests, regular security audits of installed plugins, and monitoring for unusual administrative activities. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by ensuring that administrators only access the plugin interface from trusted networks and that session management is properly configured with secure cookie attributes. Security teams should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and prevent unauthorized code injection, while maintaining regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar issues in other plugins or custom code implementations.