CVE-2022-3247 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability identified in the WordPress plugin 'Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler' versions prior to 6.9.10. This plugin facilitates automated posting and scheduling of social media content from WordPress sites. The vulnerability arises because the plugin's AJAX action lacks proper authorization checks and does not validate that the URL requested is external. Consequently, any authenticated user, including those with minimal privileges such as subscribers, can exploit this flaw to perform SSRF attacks. SSRF vulnerabilities allow attackers to make the server-side application send HTTP requests to arbitrary internal or external resources. In this case, an attacker could leverage the plugin to send crafted requests from the vulnerable server to internal network services or external endpoints, potentially bypassing firewall restrictions and accessing sensitive internal systems. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (medium severity) reflects that the vulnerability requires low attack complexity and privileges (authenticated user), does not require user interaction, and impacts integrity but not confidentiality or availability directly. The lack of authorization and URL validation in the AJAX endpoint is the root cause, enabling attackers to manipulate server requests. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk if exploited, especially in environments where subscriber accounts are easy to obtain or where internal network services are accessible from the WordPress server. The vulnerability was published on October 25, 2022, and affects versions before 6.9.10, which should be updated to remediate the issue.

For European organizations using WordPress sites with the vulnerable Blog2Social plugin, this SSRF vulnerability can have several impacts. Attackers with low-level authenticated access (e.g., subscriber accounts) could exploit the vulnerability to send unauthorized requests from the web server to internal network resources, potentially accessing sensitive internal services that are not exposed externally. This could lead to unauthorized data access, internal network reconnaissance, or pivoting attacks within the organization's infrastructure. The integrity of internal systems could be compromised if the attacker can interact with internal APIs or services that accept requests from the WordPress server. Although confidentiality is not directly impacted by the vulnerability itself, SSRF can be a stepping stone to further attacks that may exfiltrate data. Availability is not directly affected, but the attacker could potentially abuse the vulnerability to perform denial-of-service attacks on internal services by flooding them with requests. European organizations with strict data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) must be cautious, as exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to personal or sensitive data, resulting in compliance violations and reputational damage. The medium severity rating indicates a moderate risk, but the ease of exploitation by low-privilege users increases the threat level in environments where user account controls are weak.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should immediately update the Blog2Social plugin to version 6.9.10 or later, where the issue has been fixed. Beyond patching, organizations should implement strict access controls on WordPress user roles, limiting subscriber or low-privilege accounts to trusted users only. Implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious SSRF patterns in HTTP requests can provide an additional layer of defense. Network segmentation should be enforced to restrict the WordPress server's ability to access internal services unnecessarily, minimizing the impact of SSRF exploitation. Additionally, internal services should implement authentication and authorization checks, preventing unauthenticated or unauthorized requests even if SSRF occurs. Monitoring and logging of outgoing requests from the WordPress server can help detect anomalous activities indicative of SSRF exploitation attempts. Finally, organizations should conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans on their WordPress environments to identify and remediate similar issues proactively.