CVE-2022-1395 in Easy FAQ with Expanding Text Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/30/2022
The Easy FAQ with Expanding Text WordPress plugin through 3.2.8.3.1 does not sanitise and escape its settings, allowing high privilege users to perform Cross-Site Scripting attacks when unfiltered_html is disallowed
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-1395 affects the Easy FAQ with Expanding Text WordPress plugin version 3.2.8.3.1 and earlier, representing a critical cross-site scripting flaw that exploits improper input sanitization within the plugin's settings handling mechanism. This vulnerability specifically targets high-privilege users who possess the ability to modify plugin configurations, creating a significant security risk when the WordPress site operates with restricted HTML capabilities through the unfiltered_html capability being disabled.
The technical flaw stems from the plugin's failure to properly sanitize and escape user-controllable input within its administrative settings interface. When administrators configure the plugin's FAQ entries or related text fields, the input data is stored without adequate sanitization processes that would normally strip or encode potentially malicious script content. This oversight creates a persistent XSS vector where malicious scripts can be injected into the plugin's configuration parameters and subsequently executed within the browser context of other authenticated users who access the affected administrative interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to escalate privileges, steal session cookies, or perform unauthorized actions within the WordPress administrative environment. High-privilege users such as administrators or editors who have access to the plugin's settings are particularly at risk since they typically possess elevated permissions and can modify content that persists across multiple user sessions. The vulnerability becomes exploitable when unfiltered_html is disabled, which is a recommended security practice for WordPress installations, making this attack vector particularly concerning for well-configured sites.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, and demonstrates the importance of input validation and output encoding practices. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique for code injection and privilege escalation within web application contexts, where attackers leverage administrative access to inject malicious payloads that can compromise the entire WordPress installation. The vulnerability's exploitation requires an attacker to already possess high-privilege access to the WordPress administrative interface, but once achieved, it provides a persistent backdoor for executing malicious code against other authenticated users.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate plugin updates to version 3.2.8.3.2 or later, which contain the necessary sanitization fixes. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as restricting administrative access, monitoring for unauthorized plugin modifications, and ensuring that WordPress core, themes, and plugins are regularly updated. Security administrators should consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns and conduct regular security audits to identify similar sanitization issues in other third-party plugins. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper input validation and the principle of least privilege in preventing successful exploitation of administrative interfaces.