CVE-2022-38972
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedCross-site scripting vulnerability in Movable Type plugin A-Form versions prior to 4.1.1 (for Movable Type 7 Series) and versions prior to 3.9.1 (for Movable Type 6 Series) allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to inject an arbitrary script.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the A-Form plugin for Movable Type allows remote unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary JavaScript through form fields. The malicious script executes in the context of other users viewing the affected pages.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 3.9.1< 4.1.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the A-Form plugin installationCheck the Movable Type plugins directory for an A-Form folder, typically found at mt/plugins/A-Form/ or plugins/A-Form/ relative to your MT installation rootAffected if The A-Form plugin directory does not exist (plugin not installed)
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Find the installed version numberOpen the main A-Form plugin file (such as A-Form.pl, config.yaml, or version.txt) within the plugin directory and locate the version stringAffected if The version number is lower than 3.9.1 (for Movable Type 6 Series) or lower than 4.1.1 (for Movable Type 7 Series)
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Verify Movable Type versionCheck your Movable Type installation to confirm whether it is version 6.x or 7.x series - this determines which version threshold appliesAffected if MT version is 6.x and A-Form is below 3.9.1, OR MT version is 7.x and A-Form is below 4.1.1
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Confirm form functionality is in useCheck if any forms have been created or are active on the system by reviewing the A-Form data directory or database tables used by the pluginAffected if Forms exist and are accessible to users, allowing the XSS payload to be stored in form fields and executed when other users view the pages
Your environment is affected if the A-Form plugin is installed with a version below 3.9.1 on Movable Type 6, or below 4.1.1 on Movable Type 7, and forms are actively in use on the website.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped3.9.14.1.1
Update A-Form plugin to version 4.1.1 or later for Movable Type 7 Series, or version 3.9.1 or later for Movable Type 6 Series.
A-Form 4.1.1 for Movable Type 7 Series; A-Form 3.9.1 for Movable Type 6 Series
- Identify which Movable Type series (6 or 7) your installation uses
- If using Movable Type 7 Series: Upgrade A-Form plugin to version 4.1.1 or later
- If using Movable Type 6 Series: Upgrade A-Form plugin to version 3.9.1 or later
- After upgrading, verify the plugin is functioning correctly and the XSS vulnerability is resolved
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38972 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-38972 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data