Ever heard about how easy it can be to slip a little malicious script onto a WordPress site if developers aren’t extra careful? CVE-2022-45849 is a clear example. In this post, we’ll break down what this vulnerability means, how it works, and even show some sample code. If you’re using the Silkalns Activello theme on WordPress (version 1.4.4 or older), you’ll want to pay attention.
What Is CVE-2022-45849? (In Simple Terms)
This CVE covers a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) weakness found in the Activello theme (downloaded over 40,000 times!). Specifically, any logged-in user (even just subscribers) can trigger the issue. That means even the lowest-level users can launch attacks that steal cookies, deface pages, or phish other admin users.
Reflected XSS means bad data is sent to the site and “reflected” straight back in a page response—so if you can convince someone to click the right link, you can execute code in their browser.
How Does the Vulnerability Work?
For CVE-2022-45849, the problem comes from how the theme handles certain user-input fields (like search parameters). Instead of “cleaning” (sanitizing) these fields, the theme just outputs them directly—a big no-no in web security.
Exploit: See It In Action
Let’s say your site uses Activello 1.4.4 or below. A subscriber logs in, and accesses a crafted URL with a malicious search term like this:
https://example.com/?s=%3Cscript%3Ealert('XSS!')%3C/script%3E
If the search result page reflects the s parameter without escaping it, the browser sees actual JavaScript code and runs it.
Here’s a simplified version of what the vulnerable code might look like
// Somewhere in template part
$search = $_GET['s'];
echo "<h2>Your Search: $search</h2>";
No escaping or sanitization! If someone wants to run malicious JavaScript, and that code ends up inside the page, it will execute.
A safe version would use WordPress sanitizing/escaping
$search = esc_html( $_GET['s'] );
echo "<h2>Your Search: $search</h2>";
`
`
3. If the admin clicks, their cookies/session info could be stolen.
Alternatively, the attacker could use XSS to create a convincing fake login form.
References
- WPScan Advisory
- NIST NVD Entry for CVE-2022-45849
- Activello Official Theme Page
Final Thoughts
Authenticated XSS vulnerabilities are scary because they don’t need the attacker to be an admin. Just a regular user account and some cleverness can potentially compromise your website. If you’re using the Activello theme, patch now or risk opening your site to all kinds of nasty tricks!
Have questions or want more WordPress security advice? Drop your comments below!
Timeline
Published on: 04/16/2023 09:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 04/21/2023 04:17:00 UTC