CVE-2022-1090 in Good & Bad Comments Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/18/2022
The Good & Bad Comments WordPress plugin through 1.0.0 does not sanitise and escape its settings, which could allow high privilege users such as admin to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks even when the unfiltered_html capability is disallowed
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2022
The CVE-2022-1090 vulnerability affects the Good & Bad Comments WordPress plugin version 1.0.0 and below, presenting a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw that undermines the security posture of WordPress installations. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of user settings, where insufficient sanitization and escaping of input data creates persistent XSS attack vectors. The flaw is particularly concerning because it enables high-privilege users such as administrators to inject malicious scripts that can execute in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to unauthorized actions or data exfiltration.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and sanitize user-provided input within its settings interface. When administrators configure the plugin's parameters, the data is stored without adequate escaping mechanisms, creating persistent XSS opportunities. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that even when WordPress's unfiltered_html capability is restricted for users, the vulnerability allows for script execution through the plugin's own administrative interfaces. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which categorizes cross-site scripting flaws as weaknesses in input validation and output escaping, specifically targeting the failure to properly sanitize data before storage and subsequent rendering.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-1090 extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers with administrator privileges to perform sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, privilege escalation, and data manipulation. Once an attacker gains access through this vulnerability, they can execute scripts that may steal cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or even modify plugin configurations to maintain persistent access. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious scripts are executed every time affected pages are loaded, making the attack vector particularly dangerous for high-privilege users who regularly access the plugin's administrative interface. This vulnerability directly maps to attack techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1531 category for credential access and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter, as the XSS can be leveraged to harvest credentials or execute malicious commands.
The remediation strategy for CVE-2022-1090 requires immediate patching of the Good & Bad Comments plugin to version 1.0.1 or later, which addresses the sanitization and escaping issues in the plugin's settings handling. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures including regular security audits of installed plugins, monitoring for unauthorized plugin modifications, and ensuring that only trusted administrators have access to plugin configuration interfaces. Security teams should also consider implementing content security policies that limit script execution within the WordPress environment, and conduct regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar sanitization issues in other plugins. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and output escaping in web applications, particularly in administrative interfaces where privileged users interact with potentially untrusted data, reinforcing the principles outlined in OWASP's top ten security risks and the defensive coding practices recommended by the Open Web Application Security Project.