CVE-2024-31383 in PopularFX Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/15/2024
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Pagelayer PopularFX.This issue affects PopularFX: from n/a through 1.2.4.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2025
The Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-31383 resides within the Pagelayer PopularFX plugin, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of web applications leveraging this popular WordPress extension. This vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of cross-origin requests, allowing malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between users and the web application. The affected version range spans from an unspecified starting point through version 1.2.4, indicating that any installation within this scope remains susceptible to exploitation. The vulnerability manifests when users interact with the plugin's administrative functions, creating an attack surface where unauthorized actions can be performed on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF flaw occurs due to the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens or other validation mechanisms within the plugin's request handling processes. When users navigate to malicious websites or receive crafted payloads, their browsers automatically submit requests to the vulnerable PopularFX plugin endpoints, exploiting the trust relationship between the user's browser and the target WordPress installation. This exploitation vector aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities as those that permit unauthorized commands to be executed on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability specifically impacts the plugin's administrative functionalities, potentially enabling attackers to modify settings, upload malicious files, or manipulate content within the WordPress environment, all while maintaining the appearance of legitimate user activity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it can lead to complete compromise of the affected WordPress installation when combined with other exploitation techniques. Attackers can leverage this flaw to perform actions such as creating new administrator accounts, modifying existing user permissions, or injecting malicious code into the website's content. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions indicates a fundamental design flaw within the plugin's security architecture rather than a temporary oversight. This creates a significant risk for WordPress site owners who may not regularly update their plugins, as the vulnerability remains exploitable for extended periods. The potential for privilege escalation through CSRF attacks directly correlates with ATT&CK technique T1548.001, which focuses on privilege escalation through legitimate credentials and the exploitation of trust relationships within web applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-31383 require immediate action from affected site administrators, beginning with the immediate upgrade of the PopularFX plugin to version 1.2.5 or later, which contains the necessary security patches. Site owners should also implement additional protective measures such as enforcing the use of anti-forgery tokens in all administrative forms, implementing proper Content Security Policy headers, and establishing regular security audits of installed plugins. The WordPress security community should monitor for similar vulnerabilities in other popular plugins, as this type of flaw often indicates broader architectural weaknesses in plugin development practices. Organizations maintaining multiple WordPress installations should prioritize patching efforts and consider implementing automated monitoring systems to detect unauthorized changes to plugin configurations, as the vulnerability's exploitation can occur silently without immediate detection by standard security monitoring tools.