CVE-2022-1707

Google Tag Manager for WordPress <= 1.15 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via Site Search

2022-05-19 00:00
Cory Buecker

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 1.15.1
Affected Version
<= 1.15
CVSS
6.1Medium
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE-2022-1707
View all GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-1707 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the GTM4WP WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 1.15. It carries a CVSS score of 6.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 1.15.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed May 2022, reported by Cory Buecker.

Vulnerability Overview

The Google Tag Manager for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the s parameter due to the site search populating into the data layer of sites with insufficient sanitization in versions up to an including 1.15. The affected file is ~/public/frontend.php and this could be exploited by unauthenticated attackers.

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 privileges on the target site.

CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Reaching this weakness in GTM4WP <= 1.15 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. 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 GTM4WP the fix is 1.15.1: builds <= 1.15 are affected, anything from 1.15.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 1.15.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to GTM4WP: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: GTM4WP 1.15.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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