Tabs <= 3.7.1 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.7.2
- Affected Version
<= 3.7.1- CVSS
- 7.2High
- Weakness type
- CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
- CVE
CVE-2022-40215
At a glance
CVE-2022-40215 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the Tabs WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.7.1. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.7.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2022, reported by R3N0.
Vulnerability Overview
The Tabs plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via several parameters in versions up to, and including, 3.7.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with high-level permissions, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Reaching this weakness in Tabs <= 3.7.1 takes an account at Administrator 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 Tabs the fix is 3.7.2: builds <= 3.7.1 are affected, anything from 3.7.2 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.7.2, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Administrator 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: Tabs 3.7.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Tabs – Responsive Tabs with WooCommerce Product Tab Extension
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