CVE-2022-1938 in Awin Data Feed Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/11/2022
The Awin Data Feed WordPress plugin through 1.6 does not sanitise and escape a header when processing request to generate analytics data, allowing unauthenticated users to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks against a logged in admin viewing the plugin's settings
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/21/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-1938 resides within the Awin Data Feed WordPress plugin version 1.6 and earlier, presenting a critical security flaw that enables stored cross-site scripting attacks. This issue occurs due to inadequate sanitization and escaping of HTTP headers during the processing of requests designed to generate analytics data. The flaw specifically affects the plugin's handling of user-supplied input within header parameters, creating an environment where malicious actors can inject persistent script code into the plugin's settings interface.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and sanitize incoming header data before incorporating it into the administrative interface. When an administrator views the plugin settings page, any stored malicious script code that was previously injected through the vulnerable header processing mechanism executes within the context of the admin's browser session. This creates a persistent threat where the malicious payload remains embedded in the plugin's data storage and executes every time the affected admin page is loaded, making it particularly dangerous for long-term exploitation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to WordPress installations using the affected plugin, as it allows unauthenticated attackers to compromise administrator accounts without requiring any prior authentication credentials. The stored nature of the XSS attack means that the malicious code persists even after the initial injection point, enabling attackers to maintain access to the compromised system. The impact extends beyond simple script execution, as administrators may inadvertently execute malicious code while performing routine administrative tasks, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or further lateral movement within the network infrastructure.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where untrusted data is used to generate web pages without proper validation or escaping. This specific implementation follows the stored XSS pattern where malicious input is first stored and then later retrieved and executed in the context of another user's browser session. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566 - Phishing and T1071.004 - Application Layer Protocol: DNS, as attackers can leverage the XSS to redirect users to malicious domains or harvest session cookies. Additionally, the vulnerability could facilitate T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1562 - Impair Defenses, as compromised administrators might unknowingly execute malicious commands or disable security measures.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate plugin updates to versions that address the sanitization and escaping deficiencies. Organizations should also implement network-level protections such as web application firewalls that can detect and block malicious header patterns. Administrative users should be educated about the risks of viewing plugin settings pages from potentially compromised systems, and regular security audits should verify that no malicious code has been injected into the plugin's data storage. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide additional defense-in-depth against XSS execution, though this protection is only effective if the vulnerability has not already been exploited to modify the CSP configuration itself.