Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-38144 is a high-severity CSRF flaw in the wpForo Forum WordPress plugin versions 2.0.5 and earlier. If a privileged user is tricked into interacting with malicious content while logged in, site actions could occur without their intent. Public sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a timely WordPress plugin remediation item where wpForo Forum is deployed. The business risk is highest for public WordPress sites with administrators who routinely browse while logged in. Prioritize inventory, version confirmation, and vendor-guided update.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-352 cross-site request forgery in gVectors Team wpForo Forum for WordPress, affecting versions <= 2.0.5. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8 with network access, low complexity, no attacker privileges, and required user interaction. Reported impact is high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running wpForo Forum version 2.0.5 or earlier. Sites without this plugin, or with versions outside the affected range, are not identified as affected by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not provide exploit code, observed exploitation, or CISA KEV evidence. The attack model requires user interaction, which usually means tricking a logged-in site user into causing an unintended request.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sufficient to identify the affected product, version range, CWE, and CVSS vector. It is not sufficient to claim active exploitation, name a fixed version, or describe exploit mechanics. Validate findings against the live plugin changelog before closing remediation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for wpForo Forum installations.
- Check installed wpForo versions against the <= 2.0.5 affected range.
- Review Patchstack and WordPress plugin guidance for the corrected release.
- Update the plugin according to vendor guidance after testing.
- Restrict administrative sessions and use least privilege for WordPress users.
Validation and detection
- Confirm the plugin name and version from WordPress administration or asset inventory.
- Check whether any production site runs wpForo Forum <= 2.0.5.
- Review vendor changelog and Patchstack entry for remediation status.
- Verify the updated plugin remains functional in staging before production rollout.
- Monitor WordPress logs for suspicious administrator-initiated changes.
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-2022-38144 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/wpforo/wordpress-wpforo-forum-plugin-2-0-5-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf-vulnerability/_s_id=cveCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpforo/#developersCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.