CVE-2022-1610 in Seamless Donations Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/20/2022
The Seamless Donations WordPress plugin before 5.1.9 does not have CSRF check in place when updating its settings, which could allow attackers to make a logged in admin change them via a CSRF attack
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/20/2022
The Seamless Donations WordPress plugin version 5.1.8 and earlier contains a critical security vulnerability classified as CVE-2022-1610, which stems from the absence of Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protection mechanisms within its administrative settings update functionality. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of administrative operations and represents a fundamental flaw in the security architecture that directly impacts the integrity and confidentiality of WordPress site configurations. The issue manifests when administrators perform actions through the plugin's settings interface, as the system fails to validate the authenticity of requests originating from authorized users.
This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) category CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities. The flaw enables attackers to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated administrators and the WordPress application by crafting malicious requests that appear legitimate to the system. When an administrator visits a compromised website or clicks on a malicious link, the attacker can manipulate the plugin's configuration settings without the administrator's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability essentially removes the CSRF protection layer that should validate that requests are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user rather than being forged by malicious actors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration changes, as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for more extensive compromise of the WordPress installation. An attacker who successfully executes a CSRF attack could modify donation settings, alter payment processing configurations, change email notifications, or manipulate other critical plugin parameters that could affect the site's functionality and security posture. This vulnerability directly maps to the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1078 - Valid Accounts, as it leverages existing administrative privileges to perform unauthorized actions within the application. The attack requires minimal sophistication and can be executed through social engineering tactics, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently browse untrusted websites.
The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates a critical gap in the plugin's security implementation, as proper CSRF protection mechanisms should be implemented through the use of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated and validated on each administrative request. These tokens should be unique per session and validated server-side to ensure that requests originate from legitimate administrative interfaces rather than maliciously crafted links or embedded content. Organizations using the affected plugin version should immediately implement mitigations including updating to version 5.1.9 or later, which includes the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. Additionally, administrators should review their plugin ecosystem for similar vulnerabilities and consider implementing additional security measures such as web application firewalls and monitoring for unusual administrative activity to detect potential exploitation attempts.