CVE-2022-2627 is a newly discovered vulnerability found in "The Newspaper" WordPress theme before its 12th version. The vulnerability is a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) that occurs due to improper sanitization of a specific parameter within the theme's AJAX implementation. In this detailed post, we will walk you through the vulnerability, code snippets related to the issue, and exploit details, along with original references to understand the situation better.

It's essential to understand the severity of this vulnerability and take appropriate steps to fix it if you are using The Newspaper Wordpress theme previous to version 12 on your website. Remember, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute malicious JavaScript code, steal user data, or perform actions on behalf of the affected user.

Vulnerability Explanation

The Newspaper WordPress theme fails to sanitize one of its parameters before returning it as an HTML attribute in an AJAX call. This lapse allows an attacker to inject malicious code into the vulnerable parameter, thus leading to Reflected XSS. Let's take a closer look at the code snippet involved in the vulnerability:

/* Code snippet in the Newspaper WordPress theme */
add_action('wp_ajax_td_ajax_search', 'td_ajax_search');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_td_ajax_search', 'td_ajax_search');

function td_ajax_search() {
  //...
  global $post;
  $buffy .= 'data-post_id="' . $post->ID . '"';
  //...
  echo $buffy;
  die();
}

As you can see in the code snippet above, the theme registers a function named td_ajax_search to handle AJAX search requests. Data from the function is not appropriately sanitized before it gets sent back to the user. This failure enables an attacker to craft a malicious URL containing harmful JavaScript code in the query_string.

Exploit Details

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would create a specially crafted link with a malicious payload. When a user clicks on this link, the attacker's code might execute in the context of the user's browser, potentially resulting in unauthorized access or actions on the targeted website.

Think of an attacker crafting a URL like the following example

http://victim-website.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=td_ajax_search&query=<script>alert("XSS")</script>;

By opening the maliciously crafted link, the unsuspecting user triggers the XSS exploit as their browser interprets and executes the <script>alert("XSS")</script> payload. Although this example is relatively harmless, more sophisticated attacks can lead to session hijacking and data theft.

Remediation

The first and foremost step to remediate this vulnerability is to update your Newspaper WordPress theme to the latest version (12 or above). WordPress theme developers regularly release security updates, new features, and bug fixes, so it's critical to stay up-to-date to protect your site from potential attacks.

Additionally, it's always a good idea to follow security best practices for your WordPress site, such as using a Web Application Firewall (WAF), strong passwords, and regular backups to mitigate the risk of future vulnerabilities.

- CVE-2022-2627 - Vulnerability Information
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD) - CVE-2022-2627 Details
- WordPress Official Vulnerability Database

Conclusion

The Newspaper WordPress theme before version 12 was vulnerable to a Reflected XSS attack (CVE-2022-2627) due to improper parameter sanitization. To prevent exploitation, users should update their theme to the latest version and follow security best practices for their WordPress site.

Timeline

Published on: 10/31/2022 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/01/2022 14:02:00 UTC