CVE-2024-50438 in Church Admin Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/28/2024
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in andy_moyle Church Admin church-admin allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Church Admin: from n/a through < 5.0.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2026
This cross-site scripting vulnerability exists within the church-admin plugin for WordPress, specifically impacting versions prior to 5.0.0. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization during the web page generation process, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into web pages viewed by other users. The vulnerability is classified as reflected XSS because the malicious payload is embedded in the HTTP request and then reflected back to the user's browser without proper sanitization or encoding. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a critical security concern for web applications that process user-supplied data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious URLs containing XSS payloads that, when clicked by authenticated users with appropriate privileges, execute scripts within the context of the victim's browser session. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized administrative actions within the church management system. The reflected nature means that the malicious input is immediately reflected in the application's response, making exploitation straightforward and potentially automated through social engineering techniques. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to sensitive church data, including member information, financial records, and administrative configurations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it represents a significant threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the church administration system. Organizations using affected versions of the plugin face potential data breaches, unauthorized modifications to church records, and possible disruption of administrative functions. The vulnerability affects not only individual user sessions but could compromise the entire administrative interface, allowing attackers to modify church member details, alter service schedules, or manipulate financial information. This risk is particularly concerning for religious organizations that handle sensitive personal data and maintain detailed records of their congregants.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching to version 5.0.0 or later, which includes proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should implement additional security measures such as content security policies, input validation at multiple layers, and regular security audits of third-party plugins. The implementation of proper XSS prevention techniques including HTML escaping, JavaScript encoding, and secure output formatting aligns with industry best practices and helps prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future versions. Security monitoring should also be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns or attempts to exploit known vulnerabilities, while regular vulnerability assessments help identify other potential security gaps in the web application environment. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and implementing robust input validation processes as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten security framework and ATT&CK framework's web application attack patterns.