The latest vulnerability to hit the headlines is CVE-2022-3690, affecting the widely used Popup Maker WordPress plugin. This weakness allows users with roles as low as "Contributor" to execute Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks, potentially compromising admins and other users.

What's at stake?

Stored XSS attacks can put website visitors, especially those with administrative access, at risk. This vulnerability could be exploited to steal sensitive information, insert malicious scripts, or even redirect victims to other malicious sites. The fact that this attack can be executed by users with low privileges, such as Contributors, makes this an incredibly potent vulnerability.

Preventing such a disaster starts with understanding the code snippets, attack vectors, and the steps to mitigate this vulnerability. Let's dive in.

The vulnerability in detail

Affecting versions before 1.16.11, the Popup Maker WordPress plugin contains a vulnerability in handling popup options due to a failure in sanitizing and escaping user input properly. This allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts in popup options and perform Stored XSS attacks.

Here's a code snippet illustrating this issue. Let's say a user input looks like this

<h1>Hello</h1><script>alert("XSS")</script>

The plugin fails to sanitize the input properly, and as a result, the script tag is saved as is in the popup options. When the admin or other users access the affected pages, the malicious script executes, leading to the Stored XSS attack.

Exploit Details

To better understand this vulnerability, let's walk through the steps an attacker might take to perform a Stored XSS attack:

Input malicious code in the popup options, such as

`html

Hello

alert("XSS")

Wait for an admin or other users to access the affected pages.

5. As soon as the affected pages are accessed, the injected script executes, compromising the victim's session or stealing sensitive information.

For more information, consult the original sources reporting this vulnerability

- Original CVE report: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-3690
- WordPress plugin vulnerability details: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2652304/popup-maker

Update the Popup Maker plugin to version 1.16.11 or later.

2. Review and remove any suspicious code or content from existing popups that might have been injected by untrusted users.

Regularly back up your site and its database to ensure a swift recovery in case of compromise.

4. Educate your team to follow best practices for security, such as regularly updating plugins and assigning proper user roles.

Conclusion

This CVE-2022-3690 vulnerability is a significant threat to websites using the Popup Maker WordPress plugin. By understanding the code snippets, attack vectors, and mitigations, you can take proactive steps to protect your website against potential exploitation. Best practices, such as updating plugins and enforcing strict user access control, can help safeguard your website and its users.

Timeline

Published on: 11/21/2022 11:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 12/08/2022 11:15:00 UTC