CVE-2019-9978
What it is
The social-warfare plugin before 3.5.3 for WordPress has stored XSS via the wp-admin/admin-post.php?swp_debug=load_options swp_url parameter, as exploited in the wild in March 2019. This affects Social Warfare and Social Warfare Pro.
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited over the network without logging in, but needs a user to act. Limited direct impact.
- In the wild
- CISA lists this as exploited in real attacks. Treat as urgent.
- Fix
- No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.
Timeline
- ReservedThe CVE id was reserved by its CNA
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- 2021-11-03 Exploited in the wildAdded to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list
- 2022-05-03 Remediation deadlineCISA's due date for federal agencies to fix it
- Last updatedMost recent change to the record
Why it ranks here
- Exploited in the wild: yes, CISA lists it. This puts it above everything that is not.
- Exploit odds: 72.9% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Severity: 6.1 MEDIUM (CVSS).
- Fix: none linked yet, which raises it.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Added to CISA KEV
- 2021-11-03
- Exploit probability
- 72.9% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-79 · Cross-site scripting
- Record status
- Analyzed
Affected
- Warfareplugins Social Warfare < 3.5.3
- Warfareplugins Social Warfare Pro < 3.5.3
Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 6.1
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Is it in your code?
Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.
Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2019-9978.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2019-9978. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
References
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152722/Wordpress-Social-Warfare-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163680/WordPress-Social-Warfare-3.5.2-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- https://blog.sucuri.net/2019/03/zero-day-stored-xss-in-social-warfare.html
- https://twitter.com/warfareplugins/status/1108852747099652099
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-warfare/#developers
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9238
- https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2019032105
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46794/
- https://www.pluginvulnerabilities.com/2019/03/21/full-disclosure-of-settings-change-persistent-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability-in-social-warfare/
- https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2019/03/unpatched-zero-day-vulnerability-in-social-warfare-plugin-exploited-in-the-wild/
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152722/Wordpress-Social-Warfare-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163680/WordPress-Social-Warfare-3.5.2-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Jun/1
- https://blog.sucuri.net/2019/03/zero-day-stored-xss-in-social-warfare.html
- https://twitter.com/warfareplugins/status/1108852747099652099
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-warfare/#developers
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9238
- https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2019032105
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46794/
- https://www.pluginvulnerabilities.com/2019/03/21/full-disclosure-of-settings-change-persistent-cross-site-scripting-xss-vulnerability-in-social-warfare/
- https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2019/03/unpatched-zero-day-vulnerability-in-social-warfare-plugin-exploited-in-the-wild/
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-9978