CVE-2020-36739 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

CVE-2020-36739, assigned by Wordfence, pertains to a Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability in the Feed Them Social plugin for WordPress.

Understanding CVE-2020-36739

This CVE involves a security issue in the Feed Them Social plugin for WordPress that could allow unauthenticated attackers to perform unauthorized actions.

What is CVE-2020-36739?

The Feed Them Social plugin for WordPress is susceptible to Cross-Site Request Forgery up to version 2.8.6, enabling attackers to load feeds through forged requests.

The Impact of CVE-2020-36739

The vulnerability could be exploited by unauthenticated attackers to manipulate site administrators into unknowingly executing actions, potentially leading to unauthorized access.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-36739

This section delves into the specifics of the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises from missing or incorrect nonce validation in the my_fts_fb_load_more() function, allowing attackers to load feeds via forged requests.

Affected Systems and Versions

Vendor: slickremix
Product: Feed Them Social – Page, Post, Video, and Photo Galleries
Versions Affected: Up to and including 2.8.6

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by tricking site administrators into taking actions like clicking on malicious links, enabling the loading of feeds through forged requests.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2020-36739 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update the Feed Them Social plugin to version 2.8.7 or higher to mitigate the vulnerability.
Educate site administrators about the risks of clicking on unknown links.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and update plugins and themes to address security vulnerabilities.
Implement strict access controls and authentication mechanisms to prevent unauthorized actions.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely installation of security patches and updates to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.