Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-36741 affects the MultiVendorX WooCommerce marketplace plugin for WordPress through version 3.5.7. A malicious site or link could cause an authenticated site administrator’s browser to submit a comment without proper anti-CSRF protection. Business impact is limited integrity risk, but marketplace sites should not leave admin-triggered actions exposed.
Executive priority
Treat this as a routine but real WordPress hygiene issue. It is not shown as actively exploited, and impact is limited, but marketplace sites depend on trust in vendor workflows. Patch or remove affected plugin versions during the next maintenance window, sooner for high-traffic commerce sites.
Technical view
The reported flaw is CWE-352 in MultiVendorX’s submit_comment() function, caused by missing or incorrect nonce validation. The CVSS 3.1 score is 4.3: network-reachable, low complexity, no attacker privileges, user interaction required, and low integrity impact only. The bundle indicates versions up to and including 3.5.7 are affected.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress/WooCommerce sites using MultiVendorX through version 3.5.7. The attacker must induce a site administrator to perform an action, such as clicking a link. Sites not using this plugin, or running a fixed later release, are not indicated as affected by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires social engineering an administrator and would allow unauthorized comment submission, not direct code execution or data theft according to the provided CVSS impacts.
Researcher notes
The bundle’s narrative identifies MultiVendorX <=3.5.7, but the structured affected block is sparse and appears inconsistent. Use the Wordfence entry, CVE record, Nintechnet references, and WordPress Trac 3.5.8 reference to confirm exact fixed behavior before making broad exposure claims.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the MultiVendorX plugin and installed version.
- Update to a version later than 3.5.7 after confirming vendor guidance.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is unused or cannot be updated.
- Remind administrators not to open untrusted links while authenticated to WordPress.
- Monitor vendor, Wordfence, and WordPress plugin advisories for confirmation details.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any site runs MultiVendorX version 3.5.7 or earlier.
- Review plugin changelog or source around submit_comment() nonce validation.
- Check recent comment activity for unusual submissions tied to administrator sessions.
- Verify security controls cover WordPress admin CSRF risk.
- Document findings where affected-version metadata appears inconsistent.
Public sources used
- CVE Program
- CVE List V5
- Wordfence Vulnerability Entry
- Nintechnet CSRF Plugins Post
- Nintechnet More CSRF Plugins and Themes
- Nintechnet Fixed CSRF Vulnerabilities Part 3
- Nintechnet Fixed CSRF Vulnerabilities Part 2
- Nintechnet Fixed CSRF Vulnerabilities Part 1
- Nintechnet Fixed CSRF Vulnerabilities Part 5
- Nintechnet Fixed CSRF Vulnerabilities Part 4
- WordPress Plugin Trac 3.5.8 Reference
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-352: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-36741 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2c3d9fa7-8ea2-4213-8b28-2ca9191a8223?source=cveCVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/25-wordpress-plugins-vulnerable-to-csrf-attacks/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/more-wordpress-plugins-and-themes-vulnerable-to-csrf-attacks/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-3/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-2/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-1/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-5/CVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/multiple-wordpress-plugins-fixed-csrf-vulnerabilities-part-4/CVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/dc-woocommerce-multi-vendor/tags/3.5.8/classes/class-wcmp-vendor-dashboard.php?rev=2381617#L432CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.