CVE-2024-10227 in affiliate-toolkit Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/29/2024
The affiliate-toolkit plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's atkp_product shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 3.6.5 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2026
The affiliate-toolkit plugin for WordPress presents a critical stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that affects all versions through 3.6.5, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's atkp_product shortcode implementation, which fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied attributes before processing them. The flaw allows authenticated attackers who possess contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts that persist within the plugin's shortcode parameters, making it a stored XSS vulnerability rather than a reflected one. This classification places the vulnerability in the context of CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or escaping.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it provides attackers with the capability to manipulate content displayed to other users who access pages containing the injected scripts. Since contributors and above have sufficient privileges to modify content, an attacker can embed malicious payloads within the shortcode attributes that will execute whenever any user accesses the affected pages. This creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, or even establish backdoors within the WordPress environment. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by users who should normally have limited administrative capabilities.
Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.003, which covers abuse of group privileges, as the attack requires only contributor-level access to execute successfully. The attack chain begins with an authenticated user exploiting the shortcode functionality to inject malicious code, which then executes in the context of other users' browsers when they view affected pages. Mitigation strategies must include immediate patching to version 3.6.6 or later, which addresses the input sanitization deficiencies. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as restricting contributor-level access to shortcode editing capabilities, implementing content security policies, and monitoring for unusual shortcode modifications. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and output escaping practices, particularly for plugins that process user-supplied content, and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of all user-facing input handling mechanisms in WordPress plugins.
The broader implications of this vulnerability extend to WordPress security best practices, as it underscores the critical need for plugins to implement robust sanitization routines for all user-provided data. This includes not only direct input but also attributes passed through shortcodes and other dynamic content generation mechanisms. The vulnerability serves as a reminder that even seemingly benign plugin features can become attack vectors when proper security controls are not implemented, emphasizing the importance of defense-in-depth strategies that include regular security audits, input validation, and output encoding across all plugin components.