CVE-2022-2152 in Duplicate Page and Post Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/15/2022
The Duplicate Page and Post Plugin WordPress plugin through 2.7 does not sanitise and escape its settings, allowing high privilege users such as admin to perform Cross-Site Scripting attacks even when the unfiltered_html capability is disallowed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/11/2022
The Duplicate Page and Post WordPress plugin vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw that exploits insufficient input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's administrative settings. This vulnerability affects versions through 2.7 and specifically targets high-privilege users such as administrators who possess the capability to modify plugin configurations. The flaw exists in the plugin's handling of user-supplied data within its settings interface, where malicious payloads can be injected without proper validation or escaping procedures. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates even when the WordPress environment has restricted the unfiltered_html capability, which typically prevents users from injecting raw HTML content into posts and pages. This restriction is a fundamental security measure designed to prevent malicious actors from executing arbitrary scripts in the context of authenticated users' browsers. The plugin's failure to properly sanitize settings inputs creates an attack vector that bypasses standard WordPress security controls, allowing administrators to inadvertently execute malicious JavaScript code when viewing or interacting with the plugin's administrative interface. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a stored XSS variant where malicious scripts are permanently stored within the plugin's configuration settings. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers who can compromise administrator credentials to execute persistent XSS attacks against other authenticated users within the same WordPress environment. The attack typically involves an attacker with administrator privileges injecting malicious script code into the plugin's settings fields, which then executes whenever other administrators or privileged users access the plugin interface. This creates a persistent threat that can be used to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, or redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can be leveraged for privilege escalation and lateral movement within the compromised WordPress environment. According to ATT&CK framework methodology, this vulnerability maps to T1548.002 for abuse of administrative privileges and T1566.001 for spearphishing with a link, as attackers may need to gain administrative access first before exploiting this vulnerability. The technical implementation of this flaw demonstrates poor security practices in input validation and output escaping, where the plugin fails to implement proper context-aware escaping mechanisms for different output contexts such as HTML attributes, JavaScript contexts, and CSS contexts. Security researchers have identified that the plugin's settings handling routine does not employ WordPress's built-in sanitization functions or proper escaping methods, creating a direct pathway for malicious code injection. Organizations should immediately update to the latest version of the plugin where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms. The mitigation strategy involves not only updating the plugin but also implementing comprehensive security monitoring to detect any suspicious activities related to plugin settings modifications. Additionally, organizations should review their WordPress user permissions and ensure that only trusted individuals have administrative access to prevent unauthorized exploitation of this vulnerability. The broader implications highlight the importance of proper security coding practices and the necessity of thorough security testing for third-party plugins before deployment in production environments, as this vulnerability demonstrates how a single flaw in a popular plugin can create widespread security risks for WordPress installations.