CVE-2024-3053 in Forminator Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/10/2024
The Forminator – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the ‘id’ forminator_form shortcode attribute in versions up to, and including, 1.29.2 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level permissions 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 • 04/07/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-3053 affects the Forminator plugin for WordPress, specifically targeting versions up to and including 1.29.2. This represents a critical security flaw that enables attackers to execute malicious code through a stored cross-site scripting vector. The vulnerability manifests within the forminator_form shortcode attribute, specifically when using the 'id' parameter, creating a persistent threat that can compromise user sessions and data integrity across affected WordPress installations.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization and insufficient output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's shortcode processing functionality. When administrators or users with contributor-level permissions and above create or modify forms containing the vulnerable shortcode, the plugin fails to properly validate or sanitize the 'id' parameter before rendering it in the output. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that gets stored within the form configuration and subsequently executed whenever legitimate users access pages containing the affected shortcode. The vulnerability operates under CWE-79 which specifically addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws, where insufficient sanitization of user-controllable data leads to execution of malicious scripts in the context of the victim's browser.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for WordPress administrators and site owners who rely on the Forminator plugin for contact forms and payment processing. Attackers with contributor-level access can exploit this weakness to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of authenticated users, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, or further privilege escalation within the WordPress environment. The stored nature of the XSS vulnerability means that the malicious code persists in the database and executes automatically whenever affected pages are loaded, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect multiple users over time without requiring repeated exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.002 which covers Abuse of Cloud Infrastructure and T1059.007 which addresses Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, demonstrating how attackers can leverage web application vulnerabilities to execute malicious payloads.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of the Forminator plugin to version 1.29.3 or later, which addresses the input sanitization and output escaping deficiencies. Administrators should also implement additional security measures such as restricting user permissions to minimize the attack surface, implementing content security policies to limit script execution, and monitoring for suspicious shortcode usage. Regular security audits of WordPress plugins and themes should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities, while maintaining up-to-date backups ensures rapid recovery in case of successful exploitation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and output escaping in web applications, particularly when handling user-generated content in web forms and shortcodes where privilege escalation can lead to severe security consequences.