CVE-2024-1278 in Easy Social Feed Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/21/2024
The Easy Social Feed – Social Photos Gallery – Post Feed – Like Box plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'efb_likebox' shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 6.5.4 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor-level and above permissions 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 • 04/13/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-1278 affects the Easy Social Feed plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting versions up to and including 6.5.4. This plugin facilitates the display of social media content including photo galleries, post feeds, and like boxes on wordpress websites. The flaw resides in the efb_likebox shortcode implementation where user-supplied attributes are not properly sanitized or escaped before being rendered in web pages. This represents a classic stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that persist in the database and execute whenever affected pages are loaded.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's shortcode processing code. When administrators or users with contributor-level permissions create or modify content using the efb_likebox shortcode, they can include malicious script payloads in various attributes such as URL parameters, text fields, or configuration options. These attributes are then stored in the wordpress database without proper sanitization, creating a persistent XSS vector that remains active until manually removed or the plugin is updated. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only contributor-level permissions, making it accessible to users who typically have limited administrative capabilities.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security risks for wordpress sites using the affected plugin. An authenticated attacker with contributor access can inject scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further compromise of the wordpress installation. The injected scripts can leverage the victim's existing permissions and cookies, enabling attackers to perform actions such as modifying content, accessing sensitive data, or redirecting users to malicious sites. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious code will continue to execute for all users who access the affected pages until the injection is removed or the plugin is updated.
The impact of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which describes cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for social engineering and T1071 for application layer protocol usage. Organizations should immediately update to the latest plugin version where available, implement proper input validation for all user-supplied data, and consider restricting contributor-level permissions to prevent unauthorized content modifications. Additionally, regular security audits of wordpress plugins and themes should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper output escaping and input sanitization practices, particularly for plugins that handle user-generated content through shortcodes or similar mechanisms, as these components often become attack vectors when proper security measures are not implemented.