CVE-2024-4262 in Addons For Elementor Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 05/22/2024
The Piotnet Addons For Elementor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via multiple widgets in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.28 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access 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 • 03/28/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-4262 affects the Piotnet Addons For Elementor plugin, a popular WordPress extension that enhances the functionality of the Elementor page builder. This plugin enables website administrators to create sophisticated layouts and widgets through a visual interface, making it a critical component in many WordPress installations. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's handling of user-supplied data across multiple widgets, creating a persistent security risk that can be exploited by attackers with relatively low privileges. The issue impacts all versions up to and including 2.4.28, representing a significant concern for WordPress users who rely on this plugin for their website functionality.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase. When authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher submit content through the affected widgets, the plugin fails to properly validate or escape the input data before storing it in the database. This insufficient sanitization allows malicious scripts to be stored as part of the content, which then gets executed whenever legitimate users access pages containing the injected code. The vulnerability manifests as a stored cross-site scripting attack where the malicious payload persists in the database and executes in the context of the victim's browser, bypassing normal security measures that protect against reflected XSS attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial, as it enables authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts in the context of any user who views the affected pages. This creates multiple attack vectors including session hijacking, credential theft, and the potential for further exploitation within the compromised website. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to inject malicious code that could redirect users to phishing sites, steal cookies and session information, or even deliver additional malware. The fact that contributors and above can exploit this vulnerability means that even users with limited administrative privileges can cause significant damage to website security and user data integrity. The persistent nature of stored XSS makes this particularly dangerous as the malicious code remains active until manually removed from the database.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-4262 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to versions that address the identified sanitization issues. System administrators should implement strict access controls and monitor user activities for suspicious behavior, particularly around content creation and widget modifications. The principle of least privilege should be enforced to limit contributor-level access to only necessary functions, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies and regular security audits of their WordPress installations. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and could be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566 related to spearphishing attacks that leverage web-based vulnerabilities. Regular security monitoring and automated vulnerability scanning should be implemented to detect similar issues in other plugins and themes that may present similar input sanitization weaknesses.