CVE-2022-4872 in Chained Products Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/30/2023
The Chained Products WordPress plugin before 2.12.0 does not have authorisation and CSRF checks, as well as does not ensure that the option to be updated belong to the plugin, allowing unauthenticated attackers to set arbitrary options to 'no'
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-4872 affects the Chained Products WordPress plugin version 2.12.0 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the plugin's integrity and operational security. This issue stems from the absence of proper authorization mechanisms and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protection within the plugin's administrative interfaces. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate plugin settings through crafted requests, potentially compromising the entire WordPress installation's configuration and functionality. The vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's option management system, where attackers can set arbitrary options to the value 'no' without proper authentication or validation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic lack of input validation and access control measures that are fundamental to secure web application development. The plugin fails to verify the identity of users attempting to modify settings, nor does it implement CSRF tokens to prevent unauthorized requests from being executed on behalf of legitimate users. This absence of authorization checks creates an attack surface where any remote attacker can exploit the plugin's update mechanisms to alter configuration options. The flaw particularly affects the plugin's ability to validate that the options being modified belong to the plugin itself, allowing attackers to manipulate settings beyond the intended scope of the plugin's functionality.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to WordPress site administrators and their users. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability to disable critical plugin features, potentially rendering the chained products functionality non-operational or even creating security holes within the site's overall architecture. The ability to set arbitrary options to 'no' could disable essential features like product linking, ordering capabilities, or integration with other plugins and themes. This manipulation can lead to complete service disruption, data integrity issues, and potential cascading failures that affect the entire WordPress installation. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that no prior access to the site is required, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone with access to the affected WordPress site.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-863, which addresses "Incorrect Authorization," and represents a failure in implementing proper access control mechanisms. Additionally, it relates to ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers "Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts," as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to manipulate plugin configurations without requiring legitimate credentials. The absence of CSRF protection directly maps to CWE-352, which covers Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities. Organizations using affected versions of the Chained Products plugin should immediately update to version 2.12.0 or later, as this release includes proper authorization checks and CSRF protection mechanisms. The recommended mitigation strategy involves not only updating the plugin but also implementing additional security measures such as network-level protections, monitoring for unusual administrative activities, and ensuring that all WordPress components remain current with the latest security patches. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar authorization flaws in other plugins and themes that may be present in the WordPress environment.