CVE-2024-31279 in Generate Child Theme
Summary
by MITRE • 04/12/2024
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Catch Plugins Generate Child Theme.This issue affects Generate Child Theme: from n/a through 2.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2025
The CVE-2024-31279 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Catch Plugins Generate Child Theme WordPress plugin, specifically impacting versions ranging from the initial release through version 2.0. This vulnerability resides in the plugin's handling of user requests and authentication mechanisms, creating a significant security risk for WordPress installations that utilize this particular plugin. The flaw allows malicious actors to exploit the absence of proper CSRF protection measures, enabling unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it directly undermines the integrity of user sessions and can lead to unauthorized modifications of website configurations, content manipulation, and potential privilege escalation within the affected WordPress environment.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to incorporate anti-CSRF tokens or proper request validation mechanisms in its administrative interfaces. When users perform administrative actions within the plugin's functionality, the system does not validate that requests originate from legitimate sources within the same session context. This absence of validation creates an exploitable condition where an attacker can craft malicious requests that appear to come from authenticated users, leveraging the trust relationship between the user's browser and the WordPress installation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and demonstrates a classic failure in implementing proper session management and request verification protocols.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to perform a wide range of malicious activities within the compromised WordPress environment. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to modify theme settings, create or modify user accounts, execute arbitrary code through plugin functionality, and potentially establish persistent backdoors within the website infrastructure. The severity is amplified by the fact that the vulnerability affects a widely used plugin, meaning that numerous WordPress installations could be simultaneously compromised without the site administrators' knowledge. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in the context of the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and persistence tactics, as it can serve as an initial foothold for more extensive attacks and compromise the overall security posture of the affected web applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-31279 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the CSRF implementation flaws, as vendors typically release patches that incorporate proper anti-CSRF token generation and validation mechanisms. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring of their WordPress installations to detect any suspicious administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts, while also ensuring that all plugin and theme components are regularly updated to maintain security hygiene. Additionally, implementing proper network segmentation and access controls can limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts, and maintaining regular backups ensures rapid recovery capabilities if compromise occurs. The vulnerability underscores the importance of adhering to security best practices such as input validation, proper session management, and the implementation of robust authentication mechanisms as recommended by industry standards and frameworks like NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001.