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Simple SeoWordPress extension · Coleds

CVE-2022-44627

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.8.12 or later.
See remediation →
61/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in David Cole Simple SEO plugin <= 1.8.12 on WordPress allows attackers to create or delete sitemaps.

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 confidence

This is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Simple SEO WordPress plugin versions 1.8.12 and below. The plugin fails to validate anti-CSRF tokens (nonces) when processing requests to create or delete sitemaps, allowing attackers to trick authenticated administrators into unknowingly performing these actions via malicious links or embedded forms.

MitigationImplement WordPress nonces on all sitemap-related form submissions and AJAX requests, verify the nonce before processing any create/delete operations, and consider adding referrer header validation as an additional defense layer.

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
Simple SeoWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.8.12

CVSS 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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Simple SEO plugin installation and version
    Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins. Locate 'Simple SEO' or 'Coleds Simple Seo' plugin and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, inspect the plugin main file at wp-content/plugins/simple-seo/simple-seo.php for the 'Version' header comment.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.8.12 or any lower version number.
  2. Verify sitemap feature is accessible
    Check if the sitemap functionality is enabled in the plugin settings. Look for a Sitemap or SEO Settings section in the WordPress admin sidebar under the plugin name. Confirm that sitemap generation or management options are present and configurable.
    Affected if The sitemap feature is active and accessible to administrators in the WordPress admin panel.
  3. Inspect plugin code for nonce validation on sitemap actions
    Examine the plugin PHP files that handle sitemap creation and deletion (typically in the main plugin file or a sitemap-related file). Search for 'wp_verify_nonce', 'check_admin_referer', or 'nonce' around the code handling sitemap form submissions or AJAX requests.
    Affected if No nonce verification functions (wp_verify_nonce, check_admin_referer) are found in the code paths that process sitemap create/delete operations.
  4. Test for missing referrer header validation
    Review the same PHP files handling sitemap operations to see if they verify the HTTP_REFERER header or implement any form of request origin validation beyond nonce checks.
    Affected if No referrer or origin validation is performed before executing sitemap create/delete actions.

You are affected if the Coleds Simple Seo plugin version is 1.8.12 or lower, the sitemap feature is enabled, and the plugin lacks nonce validation on sitemap-related requests.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.8.12
Interim mitigation

Implement WordPress nonces on all sitemap-related form submissions and AJAX requests, verify the nonce before processing any create/delete operations, and consider adding referrer header validation as an additional defense layer.

Fix this in Simple Seo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-44627 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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