CVE-2022-2223 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin 'Image Slider' developed by ghozylab. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.1.121. The root cause is the plugin's failure to properly verify the presence of a nonce—a security token used to validate legitimate requests—in the function ewic_duplicate_slider. Without this verification, an attacker can craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated site administrator (for example, by clicking a specially crafted link), cause the duplication of existing posts or pages without the administrator's explicit intent. The vulnerability requires user interaction (the administrator must be tricked into clicking a link) but does not require the attacker to be authenticated. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4 (medium severity), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based, with low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction is necessary. The impact primarily affects the integrity and confidentiality of the affected WordPress site’s content, as unauthorized duplication of posts or pages could lead to content manipulation or confusion. Availability is not impacted. There are no known exploits in the wild, and no official patches have been linked, indicating that mitigation may require manual updates or configuration changes. This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-352, which is a common web application security weakness related to CSRF attacks.

For European organizations using the vulnerable Image Slider plugin on WordPress sites, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk. Attackers can exploit it to manipulate website content by duplicating posts or pages, potentially leading to misinformation, content clutter, or unauthorized content replication. This could undermine the integrity of corporate websites, damage brand reputation, or be leveraged as part of a broader social engineering or phishing campaign. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise sensitive data or availability, the unauthorized content duplication could be used to facilitate further attacks or confuse site visitors. Organizations with public-facing WordPress sites, especially those relying on the Image Slider plugin for content presentation, are at risk. The requirement for administrator interaction means that targeted phishing or social engineering campaigns are likely vectors. European organizations in sectors with high reliance on web presence—such as media, e-commerce, education, and government—may find this vulnerability particularly concerning.

1. Immediate mitigation involves disabling or removing the vulnerable Image Slider plugin until a patched version is available. 2. If removal is not feasible, restrict administrative access and educate administrators about the risks of clicking on unsolicited links, especially those that could trigger administrative actions. 3. Implement web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the plugin’s endpoints. 4. Monitor web server logs for unusual POST requests or repeated duplication actions that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5. Encourage plugin developers or site maintainers to implement nonce verification in the ewic_duplicate_slider function to ensure that only legitimate requests from authenticated users are processed. 6. Regularly update WordPress core and all plugins to their latest versions to benefit from security patches. 7. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers and other browser security features to reduce the risk of CSRF and related attacks. 8. Conduct security awareness training focused on phishing and social engineering to reduce the risk of administrator interaction with malicious links.