CVE-2022-2001 is a high-severity Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the DX Share Selection plugin for WordPress, developed by nofearinc. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.4 due to the absence of nonce protection in the dxss_admin_page() function located in the ~/dx-share-selection.php file. Nonce tokens are a critical security mechanism used to verify that requests made to a web application are intentional and originate from authenticated users. Without this protection, an attacker can craft malicious web requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator (for example, by clicking a specially crafted link), cause unauthorized actions to be performed on the WordPress site. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts or commands indirectly by exploiting the administrator’s session, potentially leading to full compromise of the site’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 reflects the high impact and ease of exploitation since no privileges are required and only user interaction (clicking a link) is necessary. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability’s nature and severity make it a significant risk, especially for sites using this plugin without updated patches or mitigations. The attack vector is network-based, requiring only that the attacker trick an administrator into performing an action, which is a common social engineering tactic. The scope of the vulnerability is limited to sites using the DX Share Selection plugin, but the impact on those sites can be severe, including unauthorized administrative actions, data manipulation, or site defacement.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk, particularly for those relying on WordPress sites with the DX Share Selection plugin installed. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized administrative control, enabling attackers to alter website content, inject malicious code, steal sensitive data, or disrupt services. This can damage organizational reputation, lead to data breaches involving personal or customer data protected under GDPR, and cause operational downtime. Given the high CVSS score and the fact that exploitation requires only user interaction without authentication, attackers could leverage phishing or social engineering campaigns targeting site administrators. The impact is especially critical for sectors with high web presence such as e-commerce, media, government, and education institutions across Europe. Furthermore, compromised websites can be used as platforms for further attacks, including distribution of malware or launching attacks against other internal systems, amplifying the threat to European organizations.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should immediately verify if their WordPress installations use the DX Share Selection plugin and identify the version in use. If the plugin is present and running version 1.4 or earlier, it is imperative to update to a patched version once available or remove the plugin if no update exists. In the absence of an official patch, organizations should implement compensating controls such as restricting administrative access to trusted networks or IP addresses, enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrators, and educating administrators about phishing and social engineering risks to reduce the likelihood of clicking malicious links. Additionally, implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the vulnerable function can provide an additional layer of defense. Regularly monitoring administrative actions and audit logs for unusual activity can help detect exploitation attempts early. Finally, ensuring that WordPress core and all plugins are kept up to date and conducting periodic security assessments will help prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities.