CVE-2022-2574 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the Meks Easy Social Share WordPress plugin versions prior to 1.2.8. The vulnerability is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issue categorized under CWE-79. It arises because the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape certain settings inputs. This flaw allows users with high privileges, such as administrators, to inject malicious scripts into the plugin's stored settings. Notably, this vulnerability can be exploited even when the WordPress unfiltered_html capability is disabled, such as in multisite environments, which typically restrict the ability to add raw HTML. The attack requires the attacker to have administrative privileges and some user interaction (e.g., viewing the affected settings page) to trigger the malicious script execution. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 4.8, reflecting a medium severity due to the need for high privileges and user interaction, but with potential confidentiality and integrity impacts. The vulnerability does not affect availability. No known public exploits have been reported, and no official patch links were provided in the source information, but upgrading to version 1.2.8 or later is implied as the fix. The vulnerability's scope is limited to sites using the vulnerable plugin version, and the impact is primarily on the confidentiality and integrity of site data and user sessions through script injection.

For European organizations using WordPress sites with the Meks Easy Social Share plugin, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to site integrity and confidentiality. An attacker with admin privileges could inject malicious JavaScript that might steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of administrators, or manipulate site content. This could lead to unauthorized access, data leakage, or defacement. In multisite WordPress setups common in larger organizations or hosting providers, the risk is heightened because the vulnerability bypasses the usual unfiltered_html restrictions. Although exploitation requires administrative access, insider threats or compromised admin accounts could leverage this vulnerability to escalate attacks. The impact on availability is minimal, but reputational damage and compliance issues (e.g., GDPR) could arise if sensitive data is exposed or site integrity is compromised. Organizations relying on this plugin for social sharing functionality should consider the risk in the context of their WordPress security posture and administrative access controls.

1. Immediate upgrade of the Meks Easy Social Share plugin to version 1.2.8 or later where the vulnerability is fixed. 2. Restrict administrative access strictly to trusted personnel and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as MFA to reduce the risk of compromised admin accounts. 3. Regularly audit installed plugins and their versions to ensure timely patching of known vulnerabilities. 4. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the impact of potential XSS by restricting the execution of unauthorized scripts. 5. Monitor WordPress admin activity logs for unusual behavior that could indicate exploitation attempts. 6. In multisite environments, review and tighten capability assignments and consider additional plugin hardening or sandboxing measures. 7. Use security plugins that can detect and block XSS payloads or sanitize inputs at multiple layers. 8. Educate administrators about the risks of stored XSS and safe plugin configuration practices.