CVE-2022-40698 in Quiz and Survey Master Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/19/2022
Auth. (subscriber+) Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Quiz And Survey Master plugin <= 7.3.10 on WordPress.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/20/2022
The CVE-2022-40698 vulnerability represents a critical authentication bypass issue within the Quiz And Survey Master WordPress plugin, affecting versions up to and including 7.3.10. This vulnerability allows authenticated users with subscriber-level privileges or higher to execute cross-site scripting attacks against other users within the same WordPress installation. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase, specifically in how it handles user-supplied data during quiz and survey creation processes. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a cross-site scripting weakness, where malicious scripts can be injected into web pages viewed by other users, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or privilege escalation within the WordPress environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the plugin fails to properly sanitize user inputs before rendering them in HTML contexts. Attackers with subscriber permissions can craft malicious quiz questions or survey responses containing script tags that are then executed in the browsers of other users who view these elements. This particular flaw exploits the plugin's handling of form data and user-generated content, where insufficient sanitization allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript payloads that can persist across user sessions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it leverages the trust relationship between legitimate users and the WordPress platform, making detection more challenging for security monitoring systems that might not immediately flag the malicious activity as originating from authenticated users.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-40698 extends beyond simple script execution, potentially enabling attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data within the WordPress installation. A successful exploitation could allow threat actors to steal session cookies, modify quiz results, manipulate survey data, or even gain administrative access to the WordPress site if the attacker can leverage additional vulnerabilities. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through social engineering, as the attack vector involves crafting malicious content that appears legitimate to end users. The attack chain typically involves the attacker creating a malicious quiz or survey with embedded scripts, which then executes when other users view the content, potentially leading to complete compromise of the affected WordPress installation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to the patched version of the Quiz And Survey Master plugin, which addresses the input validation gaps in the affected code. Security administrators should also implement additional defensive measures such as restricting user permissions to minimize the potential impact of compromised accounts, implementing content security policies to prevent script execution, and monitoring user activity for suspicious content creation patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input sanitization and output escaping practices, as outlined in OWASP Top 10 security guidelines, particularly focusing on the prevention of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in web applications. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar issues in other plugins and themes, as this vulnerability highlights the common pattern of insufficient data validation in WordPress ecosystem components, which can serve as entry points for more sophisticated attacks targeting the entire WordPress infrastructure.