CVE-2022-47433
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts via reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) in the WordPress Multi Rating plugin. When exploited, it can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or website defacement. Any WordPress site using Multi Rating plugin version 5.0.5 or earlier is affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Multi Rating plugin
📦 What is this software?
Multi Rating by Danielpowney
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete site takeover through session hijacking, admin credential theft leading to backdoor installation, or malware distribution to visitors.
Likely Case
Session hijacking of logged-in users, credential theft through phishing, or website defacement.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper Content Security Policy (CSP) headers are implemented and user sessions have short timeouts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Reflected XSS vulnerabilities are commonly exploited and require minimal technical skill.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.0.6 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/multi-rating/wordpress-multi-rating-plugin-5-0-5-cross-site-scripting-xss
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Multi Rating plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 5.0.6+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable plugin
allTemporarily disable the Multi Rating plugin until patched.
wp plugin deactivate multi-rating
Implement CSP headers
allAdd Content Security Policy headers to mitigate XSS impact.
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
Add to nginx config: add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'";
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads
- Disable user input fields that trigger the vulnerability if identifiable
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Multi Rating for version number. If version is 5.0.5 or earlier, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get multi-rating --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify plugin version shows 5.0.6 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual GET/POST requests with script tags or JavaScript payloads to Multi Rating endpoints
- Multiple failed XSS attempts in web server logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing <script> tags or JavaScript code to plugin-specific URLs
- Unusual traffic patterns to /wp-content/plugins/multi-rating/ paths
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (url="*multi-rating*" AND (content="*<script>*" OR content="*javascript:*" OR content="*onload=*"))