CVE-2022-3609 is a medium-severity vulnerability classified as a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issue (CWE-79) found in the GetYourGuide Ticketing WordPress plugin versions prior to 1.0.4. The vulnerability arises because the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape certain input parameters. This flaw allows users with high privileges, such as administrators, to inject malicious scripts that are stored persistently within the application. Notably, this vulnerability can be exploited even when the WordPress 'unfiltered_html' capability is disabled, such as in multisite environments, which typically restricts the ability to post unfiltered HTML content. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 4.8, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), high privileges required (PR:H), user interaction required (UI:R), scope changed (S:C), and low impact on confidentiality and integrity, with no impact on availability. Exploitation requires an authenticated high-privilege user to interact with the system, typically by submitting crafted input that is then stored and rendered to other users or themselves, leading to potential execution of arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the affected site. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a risk of session hijacking, privilege escalation, or defacement if weaponized. The plugin is used to manage ticketing functionalities, likely in tourism or event-related websites, which may handle sensitive user data and transactions. The lack of a patch link suggests that users should upgrade to version 1.0.4 or later once available or apply vendor-recommended mitigations.

For European organizations, especially those in the tourism, travel, and event management sectors that utilize the GetYourGuide Ticketing WordPress plugin, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized script execution within their administrative interfaces. This may result in theft of administrative session tokens, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of administrators, or injection of malicious content affecting site visitors. The compromise of administrative accounts can cascade into broader system compromise, data leakage, or defacement, damaging reputation and customer trust. Given the plugin’s role in ticketing, financial transactions or personal data could be indirectly exposed or manipulated. Multisite WordPress deployments, common in larger organizations or agencies managing multiple sites, are particularly at risk since the vulnerability bypasses typical content filtering restrictions. Although the direct impact on availability is negligible, the integrity and confidentiality of administrative operations and user data are at risk. The medium CVSS score reflects the requirement for high privileges and user interaction, limiting the attack surface but not eliminating the risk, especially in environments with multiple administrators or less stringent access controls.

1. Immediate upgrade to GetYourGuide Ticketing plugin version 1.0.4 or later once officially released to ensure the vulnerability is patched. 2. Until patching is possible, restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of compromised admin accounts. 3. Implement strict input validation and output encoding at the web application firewall (WAF) level to detect and block suspicious payloads targeting plugin parameters. 4. Regularly audit and monitor administrative activities and plugin-related logs for unusual behavior or injection attempts. 5. In multisite WordPress setups, review and tighten user role assignments and capabilities to minimize the number of users with high privileges. 6. Educate administrators about the risks of executing untrusted content and the importance of cautious interaction with plugin interfaces. 7. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the impact of potential XSS by restricting the sources of executable scripts. 8. Conduct periodic security assessments and penetration tests focusing on WordPress plugins and custom code to proactively identify similar issues.