CVE-2022-29437 in Image Slider Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/15/2022
Multiple Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Image Slider by NextCode plugin <= 1.1.2 at WordPress.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/16/2022
The CVE-2022-29437 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the Image Slider by NextCode WordPress plugin, affecting versions 1.1.2 and earlier. This vulnerability manifests as multiple cross-site request forgery flaws that could allow authenticated attackers with contributor-level privileges or higher to perform unauthorized actions within the WordPress environment. The vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to implement proper CSRF protection mechanisms, specifically the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in critical administrative functions. These functions include slider creation, modification, and deletion operations that are accessible through the WordPress admin interface.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the fundamental weakness in web application security where state-changing requests lack proper validation of the request origin. In the context of WordPress, this means that an authenticated user with contributor or higher privileges could be tricked into executing malicious actions without their knowledge or consent. The flaw occurs because the plugin does not validate whether requests originate from legitimate sources within the same session, making it susceptible to exploitation through social engineering attacks or by leveraging compromised user sessions. Attackers could craft malicious payloads that, when executed by an authenticated user, would perform unauthorized modifications to the image slider configurations or content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, potentially enabling attackers to compromise the entire WordPress installation through a series of cascading attacks. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to modify slider configurations, inject malicious code, or even escalate privileges within the WordPress environment. The vulnerability affects not just individual plugin functionality but could serve as a foothold for more extensive attacks, particularly when combined with other vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem. Given that the plugin is widely used, the potential attack surface is significant, and the impact could be severe for organizations relying on WordPress for their web presence. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor security hygiene in plugin development practices, particularly regarding the implementation of proper session management and request validation.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate attention from WordPress administrators and developers. The primary solution involves updating the Image Slider by NextCode plugin to version 1.1.3 or later, where the CSRF protection mechanisms have been properly implemented. Additionally, administrators should ensure that all users have appropriate privilege levels and that role-based access controls are properly configured. The implementation of additional security layers such as web application firewalls and regular security audits can provide defense-in-depth measures. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566.001 for spearphishing attachments, highlighting the importance of both defensive measures and user awareness training. Organizations should also implement proper input validation and output encoding practices to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other custom plugins or themes. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors in the wild.