Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a stored cross-site scripting issue in the WordPress Contact Form By Mega Forms plugin. A low-privileged authenticated user could store malicious script content that later runs when another user views it. Business impact is mainly account/session risk and content integrity, not server takeover based on the provided evidence.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority web risk. It is not evidenced as actively exploited, but affected public WordPress sites with user registration should be updated or have the plugin disabled promptly.
Technical view
CVE-2022-40191 is an authenticated subscriber+ stored XSS vulnerability, CWE-79, affecting Contact Form By Mega Forms versions <= 1.2.4. CVSS 3.1 is 5.4 with low attack complexity, low privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Contact Form By Mega Forms <= 1.2.4. Risk is higher where public registration, many subscriber accounts, or untrusted contributors exist.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires authenticated subscriber-level access and a victim interaction with stored content rendered by the plugin.
Researcher notes
The provided evidence does not identify the vulnerable parameter, exploit maturity, or fixed version. Validate exposure through asset inventory and plugin version checks; avoid production exploit testing.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Contact Form By Mega Forms plugin and version.
- Update the plugin if vendor guidance identifies a fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is unused or no fix is available.
- Limit subscriber registration and review low-privilege accounts on affected sites.
- Monitor vendor, WordPress plugin, and Patchstack pages for remediation guidance.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the plugin is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record installed plugin versions and flag versions <= 1.2.4.
- Review user registration settings and subscriber account exposure.
- Check security logs for suspicious authenticated content changes.
- Verify remediation against vendor or WordPress plugin guidance.
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-2022-40191 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
- 5.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/mega-forms/wordpress-contact-form-by-mega-forms-plugin-1-2-4-authenticated-stored-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability/_s_id=cveCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/mega-forms/#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.
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.