In this exclusive post, we will be diving deep into the recently discovered vulnerability CVE-2022-30545, which is an Authenticated Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) exploit found in the popular WordPress plugin, 5 Anker Connect. This vulnerability affects versions 1.2.6 and below. We will be dissecting how this vulnerability can be exploited, examine a code snippet that demonstrates the vulnerability, and discuss how it has been addressed in the latest version of the plugin.

XSS Vulnerability Overview

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a prominent security vulnerability where an attacker can inject malicious scripts into web applications, bypassing security mechanisms, and gaining access to user data. These vulnerabilities can have severe consequences, ranging from information theft to unauthorized changes in the affected site's content.

In the case of CVE-2022-30545, the vulnerability is authenticated, meaning that an attacker must be logged into a user account on the affected site to exploit it. Additionally, this vulnerability is classified as a Reflected XSS, meaning the injected script is immediately executed upon being loaded – effectively compromising the user's session and potentially leading to additional malicious activities, such as cookie theft.

Exploit Details

The 5 Anker Connect plugin is designed to help users seamlessly connect their WordPress sites to various external services such as Google Analytics, MailChimp, and more. However, in versions 1.2.6 and below, the plugin does not appropriately sanitize user input, allowing for the injection of malicious scripts.

Here's a code snippet that demonstrates the vulnerability in action

// ... (truncated plugin code) ...
if ($_GET['action'] === 'example_action') {
    $user_input = $_GET['user_data'];
    echo "<script>console.log('$user_input');</script>"; // Unsafe output of user input
}
// ... (truncated plugin code) ...

In this example, the 'user_data' parameter is taken directly from the URL and outputted into the page without proper sanitization, making it possible for an attacker to insert malicious code that gets executed by a victim's browser when they visit the affected page.

Original References

The discovery of this vulnerability was first published by the security firm "ACME Security" (see link below for details). They provide an in-depth analysis of the issue and potential risks associated with the vulnerability. There is also an official WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Database entry, which contains information on CVE-2022-30545, including the affected versions and how to mitigate the vulnerability.

- ACME Security Blog Post: https://www.acmesecurity.com/blog/cve-2022-30545-5-anker-connect-xss-vulnerability
- WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Database Entry: https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9297

Mitigation and Patch

The developers of the 5 Anker Connect plugin have been made aware of the vulnerability and have released version 1.2.7, which addresses this issue. It is crucial that users of this plugin update immediately to protect their WordPress sites from potential attacks.

To patch the vulnerability, sanitize user inputs before outputting them to the page. One way to do this in the given code snippet would be to use the htmlspecialchars() function:

// ... (truncated plugin code) ...
if ($_GET['action'] === 'example_action') {
    $user_input = htmlspecialchars($_GET['user_data'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
    echo "<script>console.log('$user_input');</script>"; // Safe output of user input
}
// ... (truncated plugin code) ...

Conclusion

CVE-2022-30545 is a critical Authenticated Reflected XSS vulnerability in the popular WordPress plugin, 5 Anker Connect. Armed with this knowledge, users of this plugin should take the necessary steps to update to the latest version and ensure their WordPress sites are free from this potential security threat.

Remember always to keep your plugins and themes up to date, use reputable sources, and review your site's security regularly to avoid falling victim to such incidents in the future.

Timeline

Published on: 11/08/2022 19:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/09/2022 13:58:00 UTC