Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-38348 is a reflected cross-site scripting issue in the Advance Search WordPress plugin up to and including version 1.1.2. An attacker could trick a user into opening a crafted request that makes script run in the user’s browser. Business risk is moderate and depends on plugin deployment and user exposure.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate web application risk. It is not listed as known exploited in the provided sources, but affected WordPress sites should be remediated because successful XSS can undermine user trust and privileged browser sessions.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-79 reflected XSS through the wpas_id parameter in inc/admin/views/html-advance-search-admin-options.php. CVSS 3.1 is 6.1 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, changed scope, low confidentiality impact, and low integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the Advance Search plugin in affected versions up to and including 1.1.2. The source bundle does not provide CPEs or a confirmed fixed version, so asset inventory is required.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction, consistent with reflected XSS, and could affect the browser context of a user who follows a malicious link.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies the vulnerable parameter and file path, but the source bundle does not name a patched version or mitigation. Do not assume exploit activity. Focus validation on plugin presence, affected version, scanner confirmation, and vendor advisory tracking.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Advance Search plugin.
- Confirm whether installed versions are 1.1.2 or earlier.
- Check vendor, WordPress, and Wordfence guidance for a fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin if no supported fixed version is available.
- Prioritize sites with privileged WordPress users or public administration exposure.
Validation and detection
- Review WordPress plugin inventory and recorded plugin versions.
- Confirm whether the Advance Search plugin is installed and active.
- Check vulnerability scanner results against CVE-2021-38348.
- Review web logs for unusual requests involving the wpas_id parameter.
- Verify any remediation by confirming the plugin is updated, disabled, or removed.
Public sources used
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-79: 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-2021-38348 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
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.82.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/vulnerability-advisories/#CVE-2021-38348CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/advance-search/trunk/inc/admin/views/html-advance-search-admin-options.php#L88CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.