CVE-2024-47647 in Accordion & FAQ Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/05/2024
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Essekia Helpie FAQ helpie-faq allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Helpie FAQ: from n/a through <= 1.27.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2026
The CVE-2024-47647 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw in the Essekia Helpie FAQ plugin, specifically impacting versions prior to 1.27. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a pervasive web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The flaw manifests as improper neutralization of input during web page generation, creating an environment where malicious payloads can be stored and executed without proper sanitization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the Helpie FAQ plugin's handling of user input data. When administrators or users submit content through the plugin's interface, the system fails to adequately sanitize or escape potentially malicious input before storing it in the database. This stored data is then retrieved and rendered in subsequent web page generations without proper context-aware escaping, allowing the injected scripts to execute within the browser context of unsuspecting users. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that once malicious input is accepted and saved, it will persist and affect all users who view the affected pages until the vulnerability is patched or the malicious content is removed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted. An attacker who can exploit this stored XSS flaw can execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the browsers of users who view the affected FAQ pages. This capability enables numerous malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, redirection to malicious sites, data exfiltration, and potential system compromise. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to gain persistent access to user sessions, potentially enabling them to impersonate legitimate users, access restricted content, or perform unauthorized actions within the compromised system. The attack surface extends to any user who interacts with the FAQ plugin, including both administrators and regular site visitors.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the Helpie FAQ plugin to version 1.27 or later, which contains the necessary fixes to address the input sanitization issues. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, ensuring that all user-provided content is properly escaped before storage and rendering. The principle of least privilege should be enforced, limiting the ability of untrusted users to inject content that could later be exploited. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against XSS attacks by restricting the sources from which scripts can be loaded. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in content submission, and regular security audits should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other plugins and components of the web application ecosystem. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious content and T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage, emphasizing the need for comprehensive defensive measures across multiple security domains.