CVE-2024-49250 in Table of Contents Plus Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/20/2024
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Syed Balkhi Table of Contents Plus table-of-contents-plus allows Cross Site Request Forgery.This issue affects Table of Contents Plus: from n/a through <= 2408.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2026
This cross-site request forgery vulnerability exists within the Table of Contents Plus plugin for WordPress, specifically impacting versions ranging from the initial release through version 2408. The flaw enables attackers to trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions on the vulnerable site without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the plugin's administrative interfaces. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious requests that appear to originate from legitimate administrative endpoints, potentially allowing them to modify content, alter settings, or perform other privileged operations on affected WordPress installations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery flaws in web applications. The flaw operates by leveraging the trust relationship between the user's browser and the vulnerable WordPress site, where the user's authenticated session cookies are automatically included with malicious requests. This allows unauthorized modifications to be executed with the privileges of the authenticated user, typically an administrator or editor with elevated permissions. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the plugin's table of contents management functionality, potentially enabling attackers to manipulate content structures or inject malicious code into the site's navigation systems.
The operational impact of this CSRF vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation or persistent malicious modifications to the site's content management systems. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to administrative functions, modify existing content, create new pages or posts, or even inject malicious scripts into the site's navigation structure. The affected version range suggests this vulnerability has been present for an extended period, providing attackers with ample opportunity to develop and deploy exploits. This weakness particularly affects WordPress sites that rely heavily on table of contents functionality for content organization, making it a significant concern for educational institutions, documentation sites, and content-heavy websites.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of the affected plugin to the latest available version where the CSRF protection mechanisms have been properly implemented. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as enforcing strict Content Security Policy headers, implementing proper CSRF token validation in custom forms, and conducting regular security audits of installed plugins. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and the necessity of implementing robust authentication and authorization controls. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through web application firewalls and log analysis, while also considering the ATT&CK framework's relevance in identifying potential lateral movement opportunities that could arise from successful exploitation of this vulnerability. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other plugins or custom code implementations that might present similar CSRF risks.