CVE-2022-3750 in Ask Me Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/21/2022
The has a CSRF vulnerability that allows the deletion of a post without using a nonce or prompting for confirmation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3750 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within a web application's security architecture. This weakness stems from the application's failure to implement proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms when processing post deletion requests. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication and authorization controls that should normally validate user intent before executing destructive operations. According to CWE-352, this constitutes a classic cross-site request forgery vulnerability where malicious actors can craft requests that appear to originate from legitimate authenticated users, thereby bypassing normal security controls.
The technical implementation flaw manifests when the application processes post deletion operations without requiring a valid nonce token or explicit user confirmation mechanism. This absence creates an exploitable condition where an attacker can construct a malicious request that, when triggered by a victim's browser, executes the deletion action without the user's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability operates under the principle that authenticated sessions are trusted without additional verification, which violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and explicit user consent. The flaw essentially allows attackers to perform unauthorized actions using the victim's authenticated session context, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users maintain persistent login sessions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data loss, as it undermines the integrity of the application's content management system and user trust. An attacker could systematically delete posts, potentially causing data corruption, information loss, or disruption of service availability. The vulnerability also creates potential for more severe consequences including account takeover scenarios when combined with other exploitation techniques, as demonstrated by ATT&CK technique T1566 for credential harvesting and T1499 for data destruction. The lack of confirmation prompts means victims remain unaware of the deletion activities, creating a stealthy attack vector that can persist undetected for extended periods.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-3750 should prioritize the immediate implementation of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms, including the generation and validation of unique nonce values for each user session. The application must require confirmation dialogs or explicit user interaction before executing destructive operations, aligning with security best practices outlined in OWASP Top Ten and NIST guidelines for web application security. Additionally, implementing proper session management controls, enforcing strict origin validation, and deploying Content Security Policy headers can provide additional defense layers. Regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing should be conducted to ensure the effectiveness of these mitigations and prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future development cycles.