CVE-2022-38055

wpForo Forum <= 2.0.9 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) HTML Injection

2022-12-07 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.1.0
Affected Plugin: wpForo Forum
Affected Version: <= 2.0.9
CVSS: 5.4Medium
Weakness type: CWE-74 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
CVE: CVE-2022-38055

At a glance

CVE-2022-38055 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') vulnerability in the wpForo Forum WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.0.9. It carries a CVSS score of 5.4 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 2.1.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed December 2022, reported by Dhakal Ananda.

Vulnerability Overview

The wpForo Forum plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to HTML Injection in versions up to, and including, 2.0.9. This is due to insufficient escaping and sanitization of user supplied input. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above to inject HTML content on pages.

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-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')

The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.

Remediation

Update to version 2.1.0, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Subscriber 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: wpForo Forum 2.1.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38055 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/83cb1333-3c74-426d-9838-a5cb90be29b2 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38055

Related records

Other vulnerabilities in wpForo Forum

CVSS Vector

5.4

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

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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