CVE-2022-4022

SVG Support 2.5 - 2.5.1 - Insecure Plugin Defaults to Cross-Site Scripting

2022-11-16 00:00
Marco Wotschka

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.5.2
Affected Plugin
SVG Support
Affected Version
2.5 – 2.5.1
CVSS
6.4Medium
Weakness type
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE
CVE-2022-4022
View all SVG Support vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2022-4022 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the SVG Support WordPress plugin, affecting versions 2.5 – 2.5.1. It carries a CVSS score of 6.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The issue is fixed in version 2.5.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2022, reported by Marco Wotschka.

Vulnerability Overview

The SVG Support plugin for WordPress defaults to insecure settings in version 2.5 and 2.5.1. SVG files containing malicious javascript are not sanitized. While version 2.5 adds the ability to sanitize image as they are uploaded, the plugin defaults to disable sanitization and does not restrict SVG upload to only administrators. This allows authenticated attackers, with author-level privileges and higher, to upload malicious SVG files that can be embedded in posts and pages by higher privileged users. Additionally, the embedded JavaScript is also triggered on visiting the image URL, which allows an attacker to execute malicious code in browsers visiting that URL.

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 SVG Support 2.5 – 2.5.1 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 SVG Support the fix is 2.5.2: builds 2.5 – 2.5.1 are affected, anything from 2.5.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.5.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to SVG Support: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: SVG Support 2.5.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-4022https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ddcf7901-e9cf-4ca0-87ae-70ecac09d102https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4022

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C