CVE-2024-31097 in SEO Title Tag Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/01/2024
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Stephan Spencer SEO Title Tag allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects SEO Title Tag: from n/a through 3.5.9.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2025
This vulnerability represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting flaw that undermines the security of web applications by allowing malicious scripts to be executed in users' browsers. The issue specifically resides within the SEO Title Tag plugin developed by Stephan Spencer, where input validation mechanisms fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data during web page generation processes. The vulnerability enables attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers when they view pages containing the compromised content.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs during the web page generation phase where the plugin fails to neutralize potentially dangerous input parameters before incorporating them into dynamically generated HTML content. When users interact with the affected plugin, any malicious input provided through parameters or user-facing fields gets directly embedded into the generated web pages without proper sanitization or encoding. This creates an environment where attackers can craft malicious payloads that exploit the reflected XSS vulnerability, causing scripts to execute in victims' browsers when they access pages that contain the injected malicious code.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution as it provides attackers with the capability to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, defacement of web content, and redirection to malicious sites. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal cookies, session tokens, or other sensitive information from authenticated users, potentially leading to complete account compromise. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that the malicious payload must be delivered through a crafted URL or request that gets reflected back to the victim's browser, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns or when users are tricked into clicking malicious links.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which defines Cross-Site Scripting as a weakness where applications fail to properly neutralize input data. The attack pattern follows standard ATT&CK techniques for web application exploitation where adversaries leverage input validation flaws to execute malicious scripts in user browsers. The affected version range from n/a through 3.5.9 indicates that the vulnerability has existed for multiple versions, suggesting that the plugin developers may have failed to implement proper input sanitization measures throughout their development cycle.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of the affected plugin to the latest available version that addresses the XSS vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent similar issues in the future, ensuring that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being incorporated into web page content. Network-based protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional defense-in-depth measures, though they should not be relied upon as the sole protection mechanism. Regular security assessments and code reviews focusing on input validation and output encoding practices will help identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited in production environments.