CVE-2024-53776 in Donate Me Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 12/02/2024
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Raphael Heide Donate Me allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Donate Me: from n/a through 1.2.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/22/2025
The CVE-2024-53776 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in the Raphael Heide Donate Me plugin that demonstrates the dangerous intersection of Cross-Site Request Forgery and Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities. This particular weakness exists within the Donate Me plugin version range from an unspecified starting point through version 1.2.5, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors who can exploit this dual vulnerability to execute arbitrary code within the context of authenticated users' browsers. The vulnerability stems from inadequate validation and sanitization of user input within the plugin's donation processing mechanisms, where submitted data is not properly escaped or validated before being stored and subsequently rendered in web pages. This flaw allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript payloads that persist in the application's database and execute whenever affected pages are accessed by legitimate users. The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking, as it can enable complete compromise of user accounts and potential lateral movement within affected systems. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery conditions, while also manifesting characteristics of CWE-79, the Stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability category. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a web application attack vector under T1566, specifically targeting the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access and execute malicious code. The vulnerability's presence in a donation plugin particularly raises concerns as it could be exploited to steal sensitive user information, manipulate donation records, or redirect users to malicious websites while maintaining persistence through stored payloads. The technical implementation of this flaw suggests that the plugin fails to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or adequate input validation mechanisms during the processing of donation form submissions. Attackers could craft malicious donation requests that include JavaScript code within donation amounts, donor names, or other input fields, which would then be stored in the database and executed when the donation records are displayed. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be leveraged to establish persistent backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent. The remediation approach must focus on implementing comprehensive input validation, output encoding, and anti-CSRF token mechanisms throughout the plugin's functionality, ensuring that all user-provided data undergoes strict sanitization before being processed or stored. Organizations using this plugin should immediately implement patches or workarounds to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability could be actively targeted by threat actors seeking to compromise WordPress installations. The broader implications suggest that this vulnerability highlights the critical need for proper security testing and validation of web application components, particularly those handling user input and performing administrative functions within content management systems.