CVE-2024-5502 in Piotnet Addons for Elementor Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/23/2024
The Piotnet Addons For Elementor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's Image Accordion, Dual Heading, and Vertical Timeline widgets in all versions up to, and including, 2.4.30 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/13/2025
The CVE-2024-5502 vulnerability affects the Piotnet Addons For Elementor WordPress plugin, specifically targeting three widgets: Image Accordion, Dual Heading, and Vertical Timeline. This represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw that allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level privileges or higher to execute malicious scripts within the context of affected websites. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's core functionality, creating a persistent security risk that can affect all users who access compromised pages.
The technical flaw manifests through the plugin's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied attributes when processing data for the vulnerable widgets. When contributors or higher-privileged users create content using these widgets, the plugin accepts input without adequate validation or escaping, allowing malicious script code to be stored within the website's database. This stored malicious content persists until manually removed, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect any user who accesses pages containing the compromised widget content. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and directly violates security principles outlined in CWE-79, which addresses Cross-Site Scripting flaws.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with persistent access to victim websites through the compromised contributor accounts. Attackers can inject malicious scripts that could steal user sessions, redirect traffic to malicious sites, deface content, or harvest sensitive information from authenticated users. The stored nature of the vulnerability means that even if the original attacker's session ends, their malicious payloads continue to execute for any user who visits affected pages, creating a sustained threat vector. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002, which involves social engineering through malicious content injection.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate plugin updates to versions that address the sanitization and escaping issues, though administrators must also implement additional security measures. These include restricting contributor privileges to only essential functions, implementing robust input validation at multiple layers, and conducting regular security audits of all plugin components. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper security practices in content management systems, particularly when dealing with user-generated content that gets rendered on public-facing pages. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious content injection patterns to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.