CVE-2022-1322 in Coming Soon Under Construction Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/22/2022
The Coming Soon - Under Construction WordPress plugin through 1.1.9 does not sanitize and escape some of its settings, which could allow high-privileged users to perform Cross-Site Scripting attacks even when unfiltered_html is disallowed
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/22/2022
The CVE-2022-1322 vulnerability affects the Coming Soon - Under Construction WordPress plugin version 1.1.9 and earlier, presenting a significant cross-site scripting risk that undermines the security posture of WordPress installations. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of user settings, where insufficient sanitization and escaping mechanisms allow malicious code to persist within the application's configuration parameters. The flaw is particularly concerning because it affects high-privileged users who typically have elevated permissions and access to administrative functions, making the attack vector more dangerous and potentially more impactful than typical XSS vulnerabilities.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user inputs within its settings management system. When administrators configure the plugin's various options, including custom messages, styling parameters, or other configurable elements, the input values are not adequately processed to remove or escape potentially malicious script content. This weakness creates a persistent XSS vulnerability that can be exploited even when WordPress's unfiltered_html capability is disabled for user roles, which is a standard security measure designed to prevent the execution of arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code in user-generated content areas. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79 which classifies improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically addressing cross-site scripting flaws in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it allows attackers with high-privileged access to potentially escalate their attacks within the WordPress environment. An attacker could inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the context of other administrators' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration. The vulnerability becomes particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where administrators may be logged in simultaneously, as the injected scripts could execute in their browsers and compromise their sessions. This type of attack aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering methods, specifically targeting the trust relationship between administrators and the web application interface.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate plugin updates to versions that properly address the sanitization issues, as well as implementing additional security measures to monitor and validate all user inputs within administrative interfaces. Organizations should ensure that all WordPress plugins are kept up to date with the latest security patches and that regular security audits are conducted to identify similar issues in other installed plugins. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and output escaping in web applications, particularly in administrative interfaces where privileged users operate. Security teams should also consider implementing content security policies to further limit the execution of unauthorized scripts, and conduct regular penetration testing to identify similar issues in other components of their WordPress installations. The flaw demonstrates the critical need for security-conscious development practices and the importance of adhering to established security frameworks and standards throughout the software development lifecycle.