CVE-2022-4451 in Sassy Social Share Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/16/2023
The Social Sharing WordPress plugin before 3.3.45 does not validate and escape some of its shortcode attributes before outputting them back in the page, which could allow users with a role as low as contributor to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks which could be used against high privilege users such as admins.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-4451 affects the Social Sharing WordPress plugin version 3.3.44 and earlier, representing a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw that undermines the security posture of WordPress installations. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's shortcode processing functionality, creating an attack vector that can be exploited by users holding relatively low privileges. The flaw specifically targets the plugin's handling of shortcode attributes, where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being rendered back into web pages, thereby enabling malicious code execution in the context of victim browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the plugin's shortcode attribute processing logic, where contributor-level users can inject malicious scripts through carefully crafted shortcode parameters. When these attributes are subsequently rendered in web pages, the unescaped content executes in the browser context of other users, including administrators with elevated privileges. This stored XSS vulnerability operates by exploiting the plugin's failure to implement proper sanitization measures before outputting user-controllable data, creating a persistent threat that remains active until the malicious content is removed from the system. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it requires minimal privilege levels to exploit, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where administrators may inadvertently interact with compromised content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to escalate privileges and perform actions typically restricted to administrators. High privilege users who view pages containing the malicious shortcode content become victims of the stored XSS attack, potentially allowing attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized administrative actions, or redirect users to malicious sites. The vulnerability's persistence is a key concern since stored XSS attacks remain active until manually removed from the system, providing attackers with extended periods of access and potential for data exfiltration or system compromise. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the security model of WordPress installations that rely on proper input validation to prevent malicious code injection.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-4451 require immediate patching of the Social Sharing plugin to version 3.3.45 or later, which implements proper input validation and output escaping mechanisms. Organizations should also implement additional security measures including content security policy headers, regular security audits of installed plugins, and monitoring for suspicious shortcode usage patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which describes cross-site scripting flaws, and represents a specific implementation of the broader category of stored XSS vulnerabilities that are commonly exploited in web application attacks. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 (Phishing via Social Engineering) and T1059.001 (Command and Scripting Interpreter), as attackers can use the stored XSS to establish persistent access and execute malicious commands through compromised administrator sessions. System administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular vulnerability scanning to detect similar issues in other plugins or custom code implementations.