CVE-2024-45458 in Spiffy Calendar Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/15/2024
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Spiffy Plugins Spiffy Calendar spiffy-calendar allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Spiffy Calendar: from n/a through <= 4.9.13.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-45458 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness within the Spiffy Calendar plugin for WordPress, specifically affecting versions up to and including 4.9.13. This reflected XSS vulnerability occurs during the web page generation process when the plugin fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into dynamically generated HTML content. The flaw allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers, potentially compromising their sessions and accessing sensitive data. The vulnerability stems from the plugin's inadequate validation and sanitization of parameters received through HTTP requests, particularly those related to calendar event displays and user interactions. According to CWE-79, this vulnerability falls under the category of improper neutralization of input during web page generation, which is a well-documented weakness in web application security. The reflected nature of this XSS means that malicious payloads are injected through crafted URLs or form submissions that are immediately reflected back to the user's browser without proper encoding or sanitization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal cookies, redirect users to malicious websites, or even modify calendar content for unauthorized access. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious URLs containing script tags or other malicious payloads that get executed when users view calendar pages or interact with calendar events. The vulnerability affects the plugin's web interface where user input is processed and displayed, creating a persistent threat vector that can be exploited by both authenticated and unauthenticated users depending on the plugin's configuration. This weakness creates a significant risk for organizations that rely on the Spiffy Calendar plugin for event management, as it can lead to complete compromise of user sessions and potential data exfiltration. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where calendar systems may contain sensitive business information, meeting schedules, or personal data that could be accessed through successful exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the Spiffy Calendar plugin to version 4.9.14 or later, which contains the necessary fixes to prevent XSS injection. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to ensure that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before being incorporated into web pages. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting script execution and limiting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Security teams should also consider deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious script injection attempts targeting known XSS patterns. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for script injection techniques and T1566 for social engineering through malicious links, making it a significant threat vector requiring immediate attention. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other plugins and themes, as this vulnerability represents a common pattern that affects numerous WordPress plugins. Organizations should also implement proper security monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns or suspicious user behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts against this and similar vulnerabilities.