CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2022-3708NVD status: Modified

Web Stories: Server-Side Request Forgery

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2022-3708 is a high-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Web Stories from Google, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Web Stories versions: 1.24.0 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.09% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 66% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Web Stories you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
GoogleWeb Stories1.24.0 and earlierNot stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.19.6CriticalCNA (wordfence.com)
CVSS 3.18.1HighNVD

Official description

The Web Stories plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Server-Side Request Forgery in versions up to, and including 1.24.0 due to insufficient validation of URLs supplied via the 'url' parameter found via the /v1/hotlink/proxy REST API Endpoint. This makes it possible for authenticated users to make web requests to arbitrary locations originating from the web application and can be used to query and modify information from internal services.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Server-Side Request Forgery

The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • If there is a known list of applications, IP, hostname, and/or domains to which the product is allowed to communicate, then use allowlists to ensure that outgoing requests are restricted to these known entities. The allowlists could be in the application code or possibly enforced by firewalls or network segmentation.
  • If the product is expected to be able to connect to arbitrary IP addresses or domains, consider using a denylist that includes private network addresses, internal domain names, etc. The denylist could be in the application code or possibly enforced by firewalls or network segmentation.

More Server-Side Request Forgery vulnerabilities (CWE-918)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Server-Side Request Forgery vulnerabilities

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