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Full vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2020-35942High confidence

n/a — Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Unknown · Unknown

8.8HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Critical, raised one band.upgradedsince 4 Aug 2024

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
  • EPSS is 1.38% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Unknown Unknown and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-23525

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) issue in the NextGEN Gallery plugin before 3.5.0 for WordPress allows File Upload and Local File Inclusion via settings modification, leading to Remote Code Execution and XSS. (It is possible to bypass CSRF protection by simply not including a nonce parameter.)

What

A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) issue in the NextGEN Gallery plugin before 3.5.0 for WordPress allows File Upload and Local File Inclusion via settings modification, leading to Remote Code Execution and XSS. (It is possible to bypass CSRF protection by simply not including a nonce parameter.)

Why

Attacker-controlled content can reach a browser as executable script without sufficient output encoding or sanitisation.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) issue in the NextGEN Gallery plugin before 3.5.0 for WordPress allows File Upload and Local File Inclusion via settings modification, leading to Remote Code Execution and XSS. (It is possible to bypass CSRF protection by simply not including a nonce parameter.)

Why

Attacker-controlled content can reach a browser as executable script without sufficient output encoding or sanitisation.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Reference recorded

A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
Required interaction required
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-79 ↗

CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'). The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
NetworkUnauthenticatedRemote code executionCWE-79Public exploit reference
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20210210Security Bulletin 10 Feb 2021

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 10 Feb 2021, published on 10 February 2021. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2020-015960WordPress 用 NextGEN Gallery プラグインにおけるクロスサイトリクエストフォージェリの脆弱性

WordPress 用 NextGEN Gallery プラグインには、クロスサイトリクエストフォージェリの脆弱性、およびクロスサイトスクリプティングの脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5264WordPress NextGEN Gallery 플러그인 보안 업데이트 권고

#### WordPress NextGEN Gallery 플러그인 보안 업데이트 권고 2021.02.16 ##### □ 개요 o WordPress의 NextGEN Gallery 플러그인* 취약점을 해결한 보안 업데이트 발표 o 영향 받는 버전을 사용중인 이용자는 최신버전으로 업데이트 권고 * NextGEN Gallery 플러그인 : 이미지 갤러리를 생성하기 위한 기능을 제공하는 플러그인 ##### □ 설명 o NextGEN Gallery 플러그인에서 CSRF로 인해 발생하는 원격코드실행 취약점(CVE-2021-35942) [1] o NextGEN Gallery 플러그인에서 CSRF로 인해 발생하는 파일 업로드 취약점(CVE-2021-35943) [2] ##### □ 영향을 받는 제품 o WordPress NextGEN Gallery 플러그인 - 3.5.0 미만 버전 ##### □ 해결 방안 o 취약점이 해결된 버전(3.5.0 이상)으로 업데이트 [3] ##### □ 기타 문의사항 o 한국인터넷진흥원 사이버민원센터: 국번없이 118 [참고사이트] [1] https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-35942 [2] https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-35943 [3] https://ko.wordpress.org/plugins/nextgen-gallery/#developers ##### □ 작성 : 침해사고분석단 취약점분석팀

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
n/a
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 9 Feb 2021 · Last source change 4 Aug 2024, 17:16 UTC · CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-23525
Product sourceUnavailable
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Missing structured fields: affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-35942 · cve.blacktree.nl