CVE-2022-2516 in Visual Composer Website Builder Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/06/2022
The Visual Composer Website Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the post/page 'Title' value in versions up to, and including, 45.0 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with access to the visual composer editor to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-2516 affects the Visual Composer Website Builder plugin for WordPress, specifically impacting versions up to and including 45.0. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of WordPress content management systems relying on this popular page builder plugin. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's handling of post and page title values, creating a persistent cross-site scripting vector that can be exploited by authenticated attackers with access to the visual composer editor interface.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input sanitization and inadequate output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase. When administrators or authorized users edit content through the Visual Composer editor and input malicious script code into the title field, the plugin fails to properly sanitize this input before storing it in the database. The vulnerability manifests as a stored XSS attack because the malicious code is permanently saved and executed whenever any user accesses the affected page, regardless of whether they have administrative privileges or not. This flaw directly maps to CWE-79, which describes improper neutralization of input during web page generation, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for the initial access phase through malicious content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities. Compromised administrators could steal session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, inject malicious advertisements, or even escalate privileges within the WordPress environment. The persistent nature of stored XSS means that the attack vector remains active until the malicious content is manually removed from the database, potentially affecting multiple users over extended periods. This vulnerability particularly affects WordPress installations where multiple users have access to the visual composer editor, making it a significant concern for businesses and organizations relying on collaborative content management workflows.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-2516 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the sanitization issues, as the vendor has released patches to resolve this vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including regular security audits of installed plugins, limiting user access to visual composer editor functionality, and implementing content security policies to reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious script injections, and regular database backups should be maintained to ensure rapid recovery in case of successful exploitation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of input validation and output escaping practices in web applications, emphasizing that all user-provided data must be properly sanitized before being stored or rendered in web contexts. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls to provide additional protection against similar vulnerabilities in the future, while maintaining awareness of the ATT&CK framework's guidance for detecting and preventing such attacks.