Frontend File Manager <= 21.3 - Cross-Site Request Forgery to Plugin Settings Update

2022-09-06 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 21.4
Affected Plugin: Frontend File Manager Plugin
Affected Version: <= 21.3
CVSS: 8.8High
Weakness type: CWE-352 · Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
CVE: CVE pending

View all Frontend File Manager Plugin vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a high-severity Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Frontend File Manager Plugin WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 21.3. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 21.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2022.

Vulnerability Overview

The Frontend File Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in versions up to, and including, 21.3. This is due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the wpfm_save_settings function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to modify the plugin's settings, via forged request granted they can trick a site administrator 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 privileges on the target site. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

Reaching this weakness in Frontend File Manager Plugin <= 21.3 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Cross-site request forgery abuses the fact that browsers attach a victim's cookies to any request, so a state-changing action that only checks who you are, not whether you meant to act, can be triggered from another site.

An attacker who gets a logged-in user to load a crafted page can perform that action as them, with the impact scaling to whatever the victim's role is allowed to do. For Frontend File Manager Plugin the fix is 21.4: builds <= 21.3 are affected, anything from 21.4 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 21.4, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Frontend File Manager Plugin: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Frontend File Manager Plugin 21.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/59b63a01-fd8b-4742-a52f-c0a7b59e9e04

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in Frontend File Manager Plugin

CVSS Vector

8.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionRequired
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

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