Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-4426 is a CSRF flaw in the Absolute Reviews WordPress plugin through version 1.0.8. An attacker would need to trick an authenticated site administrator into taking an action, such as following a link, after which plugin review metadata could be changed without proper nonce validation.
Executive priority
Handle during normal vulnerability remediation unless the plugin is used on high-value or heavily administered sites. Prioritize inventory and patch status because exploitation depends on administrator interaction but can still change site data.
Technical view
The vulnerable metabox_review_save() function lacks proper WordPress nonce validation. The reported impact is unauthorized saving of meta tags through a forged request. CVSS 3.1 is 4.3, reflecting network reachability, no attacker privileges, required user interaction, and low integrity impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Absolute Reviews version 1.0.8 or earlier. Sites without the plugin, or not using affected versions, are not indicated as exposed by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires social engineering a site administrator into performing an action while authenticated. The stated impact is metadata integrity, not confidentiality or availability.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies CWE-352 and missing or incorrect nonce validation in metabox_review_save(). The bundle does not provide exploit telemetry, full patch version details, or broader impact beyond saved meta tags, so conclusions should stay scoped to those facts.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Absolute Reviews usage and version.
- Update beyond affected versions if a vendor-supported release is available.
- If no fixed release is available, disable or remove the plugin.
- Review vendor, Wordfence, and WordPress plugin guidance before production changes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Absolute Reviews is installed on each WordPress instance.
- Verify installed versions are not 1.0.8 or earlier.
- Review administrative change logs for unexpected review metadata changes.
- Confirm the deployed plugin includes nonce validation for review metadata saves.
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-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-2021-4426 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/ec1ee47d-020c-482d-ad6f-663d78e624b8?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/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=2548729%40absolute-reviews&new=2548729%40absolute-reviews&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE 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.