Post Comments as bbPress Topics <= 2.2.3 - Authenticated (Author+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 2.2.4
- Affected Plugin
- Post Comments as bbPress Topics
- Affected Version
<= 2.2.3- CVSS
- 6.4Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Post Comments as bbPress Topics WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.2.3. It carries a CVSS score of 6.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Author level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.2.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed June 2022.
Vulnerability Overview
The Post Comments as bbPress Topics plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via various parameters, such as `bbpress_topic[display-extras][xcount]` in versions up to, and including, 2.2.3 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with publishing capabilities, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a link.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.
CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Reaching this weakness in Post Comments as bbPress Topics <= 2.2.3 takes an account at Author level or above. Cross-site scripting happens when input from a request is written into a page without being escaped for the context it lands in, so the browser parses attacker-supplied text as markup or script.
Injected script runs with the privileges of whoever views the affected page, which is how these flaws turn into administrator session theft, silent account creation or persistent backdoors in page content. For Post Comments as bbPress Topics the fix is 2.2.4: builds <= 2.2.3 are affected, anything from 2.2.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 2.2.4, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Author access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Post Comments as bbPress Topics 2.2.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C