CVE-2024-5002 in User Submitted Posts Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/13/2024
The User Submitted Posts WordPress plugin before 20240516 does not sanitise and escape some of its settings, which could allow high privilege users such as admin to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attacks even when the unfiltered_html capability is disallowed (for example in multisite setup)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/18/2025
The CVE-2024-5002 vulnerability affects the User Submitted Posts WordPress plugin version prior to 20240516 and represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw that undermines web application security. This vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's handling of user settings, where insufficient sanitization and escaping mechanisms leave malicious code exposed to persistent execution within the WordPress environment. The flaw is particularly concerning because it allows high-privilege users such as administrators to inject malicious scripts that can execute in the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to complete session hijacking or data exfiltration.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and sanitize user input within its settings management system. According to CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, the issue manifests as a failure to properly escape output and validate input, creating an environment where malicious scripts can be stored and subsequently executed. The vulnerability's exploitation becomes possible even when WordPress's unfiltered_html capability is restricted, which typically prevents users from submitting raw HTML content that could pose security risks. This behavior is particularly problematic in multisite configurations where security policies are more stringent and user privileges are carefully managed.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-5002 extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to manipulate the plugin's functionality and potentially compromise entire WordPress installations. When administrators or other high-privilege users are tricked into interacting with maliciously crafted settings, the stored XSS can facilitate session hijacking attacks, allowing unauthorized access to administrative interfaces. The vulnerability's persistence through stored data makes it particularly dangerous because the malicious code continues to execute whenever affected pages are loaded, creating a long-term threat vector that can remain undetected for extended periods. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which describes social engineering attacks that can lead to privilege escalation through manipulation of application settings.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of the User Submitted Posts plugin to version 20240516 or later, as this represents the most effective mitigation strategy for addressing the vulnerability. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase would prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual settings modifications and potential XSS payloads within plugin configurations, while network-based intrusion detection systems should be configured to flag suspicious patterns in HTTP requests that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper security practices in WordPress plugin development and highlights the need for regular security audits of third-party components to prevent exploitation of such critical flaws.