CVE-2022-1765
📋 TL;DR
The Hot Linked Image Cacher WordPress plugin through version 1.16 is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). This allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into caching images from external domains on the server without their consent. WordPress site administrators using vulnerable plugin versions are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Hot Linked Image Cacher WordPress plugin
📦 What is this software?
Hot Linked Image Cacher by Hot Linked Image Cacher Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could cache copyrighted or malicious images on the server, leading to legal liability, copyright infringement claims, or hosting of inappropriate content without the site owner's knowledge.
Likely Case
Unauthorized caching of external images, potentially violating copyright laws and consuming server storage resources.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections, only legitimate administrators can cache images with explicit consent.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 1.17 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/b50e7622-c1dc-485b-a5f5-b010b40eef20
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Hot Linked Image Cacher'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 1.17+ from WordPress repository and replace the plugin files.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate hot-linked-image-cacher
Implement CSRF Protection
allAdd CSRF tokens to plugin forms if custom patching is possible.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove the plugin entirely if updating is not possible.
- Implement web application firewall rules to block CSRF attempts targeting the plugin endpoints.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'Hot Linked Image Cacher' version 1.16 or lower.Check Version:
wp plugin get hot-linked-image-cacher --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 1.17 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=cache_external_image
- Multiple image cache requests from single IP in short time
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with external image URLs being sent to plugin endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND "cache_external_image" AND status=200