# CVE-2021-20781: Cross-site request forgery in WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter

> Remote attackers can hijack administrator authentication via CSRF in the WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter plugin.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jul 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mm96-vxx4-fq5v

## What is CVE-2021-20781?

CVE-2021-20781 is a high-severity vulnerability in realmag777 WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter, published on 14 Jul 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter versions prior to v.1.2.8 and versions prior to v.2.2.8 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-20781?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pluginus Wordpress Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-20781?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-20781 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-20781 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20781 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in realmag777 WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter

- [CVE-2024-8624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-8624/): MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter <= 1.3.3.3 - Authenticated (Contributor+) SQL Injection (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2024-50450](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50450/): WordPress MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter plugin <= 1.3.3.4 - Bypass Vulnerability vulnerability (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2024-8623](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-8623/): MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter <= 1.3.3.3 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2024-29763](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29763/): WordPress MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter plugin <= 1.3.3 - Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2024-12030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-12030/): MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter <= 1.3.3.5 - Authenticated (Contributor+) SQL Injection (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-20781 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-20781 is a high-severity vulnerability in realmag777 WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter, published on 14 Jul 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20781 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: realmag777 WordPress Meta Data Filter & Taxonomies Filter. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20781/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20781/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-20781
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-20781
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-20781

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20781/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.