CVE-2024-22285 in Frontpage Manager Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/31/2024
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Elise Bosse Frontpage Manager.This issue affects Frontpage Manager: from n/a through 1.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/22/2024
The CVE-2024-22285 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Elise Bosse Frontpage Manager plugin, a WordPress content management system component that allows users to manage frontpage content through administrative interfaces. This vulnerability exists in versions ranging from the initial release through version 1.3, indicating a prolonged period during which the security flaw remained unaddressed. The vulnerability stems from the plugin's insufficient validation of cross-site requests, failing to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or request origin verification mechanisms that are fundamental to preventing unauthorized actions executed on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability allows an attacker to manipulate authenticated users into performing unintended actions within the Frontpage Manager interface without their knowledge or consent. When a user visits a malicious website or clicks on a crafted link while authenticated to a vulnerable WordPress site, the attacker can trigger administrative functions such as content modification, user management, or configuration changes. The flaw specifically manifests in the absence of synchronizer tokens or origin checking in the plugin's request handling, making it susceptible to exploitation through techniques that leverage the user's existing authenticated session. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a security weakness that allows attackers to perform actions on behalf of a user without their knowledge.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple content manipulation, as it provides attackers with potential access to administrative capabilities within the WordPress environment. An attacker could exploit this flaw to modify frontpage content, potentially injecting malicious scripts or redirecting users to phishing sites, thereby compromising the integrity of the website. The vulnerability also poses significant risks to user data and site security, as it could enable unauthorized changes to site configuration, user permissions, or content that might go unnoticed for extended periods. This type of attack represents a serious threat to website owners, as it can result in reputational damage, data compromise, and potential regulatory violations under various data protection frameworks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-22285 should prioritize immediate patching of the Frontpage Manager plugin to version 1.4 or later, which contains the necessary CSRF protection mechanisms. System administrators should implement additional defensive measures including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious cross-site requests, along with regular security audits of installed plugins and themes. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and proper session management practices can further reduce the attack surface. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of their web infrastructure. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and the critical need for proper input validation and request origin verification in web applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers social engineering through malicious links and payloads.