Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A vulnerable WordPress image-hover plugin can reflect attacker-supplied script into a visitor's browser. An attacker still needs a user to interact with a crafted link or page, but no WordPress login is required. Impact is mainly browser-side session, content, or trust abuse on affected sites.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority WordPress plugin cleanup item, especially for public websites. It is not confirmed exploited in the provided sources, but unauthenticated reflected XSS can damage user trust and expose browser-side data when successful.
Technical view
CVE-2022-45831 is an unauthenticated reflected XSS issue in biplob018 Image Hover Effects for Elementor with Lightbox and Flipbox, reported for versions up to 2.8. CVSS 3.1 is 7.1 with network access, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and changed scope.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with the image-hover-effects-with-carousel plugin installed at an affected version, reported as <= 2.8. The bundle does not prove exposure for sites without this plugin or for unrelated Elementor plugins.
Exploitation context
The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation. The attack is reflected XSS, so practical exploitation depends on persuading a victim to follow attacker-controlled content that reaches the vulnerable plugin behavior.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports CWE-79 reflected XSS with UI required and no privileges. The bundle does not include exploit details, affected endpoint specifics, or a named fixed version. Avoid assuming a patch exists until confirmed through vendor or Patchstack guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the image-hover-effects-with-carousel plugin.
- Confirm installed plugin versions against CVE and Patchstack records.
- Check WordPress, vendor, or Patchstack guidance for a fixed release.
- Disable or remove the plugin where remediation cannot be confirmed.
- Prioritize public, high-traffic, authenticated, or administrator-used sites first.
Validation and detection
- Verify whether the plugin is installed on each WordPress property.
- Record the exact plugin version and compare it with <= 2.8 exposure.
- Review access logs for unusual requests targeting plugin-related paths.
- Check whether affected pages are reachable by unauthenticated visitors.
- Confirm remediation by rechecking plugin presence and version after 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-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-2022-45831 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
- 7.1 (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:L
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:L2.83.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
Source materials
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.