CVE-2024-8440 in Essential Addons for Elementor Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/11/2024
The Essential Addons for Elementor – Best Elementor Templates, Widgets, Kits & WooCommerce Builders plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's Fancy Text widget in all versions up to, and including, 6.0.3 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 • 03/10/2025
The Essential Addons for Elementor plugin represents one of the most widely used WordPress extensions for enhancing website functionality through various widgets and templates. This particular vulnerability affects versions up to and including 6.0.3, making it a significant concern for WordPress sites that rely on this plugin for their frontend presentation and user interface elements. The Fancy Text widget serves as a core component within this plugin ecosystem, allowing users to create dynamic text elements with various styling options. The vulnerability exists within the plugin's handling of user-supplied data, specifically in how it processes and renders attributes passed through the widget configuration interface.
The technical flaw manifests as a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability that occurs due to inadequate input sanitization and output escaping mechanisms within the plugin's codebase. When authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher access the widget configuration interface, they can inject malicious scripts into the plugin's attribute fields. These scripts are then stored within the WordPress database and executed whenever any user accesses pages containing the affected widget. The vulnerability stems from CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications, where insufficient validation of user input allows malicious code to be stored and subsequently executed. This particular implementation fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied attributes before rendering them in the HTML output, creating a persistent XSS vector.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to perform various malicious activities through the compromised WordPress site. An attacker with contributor-level access can inject scripts that may steal cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or even execute more sophisticated attacks such as credential harvesting or session hijacking. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious code persists even after the initial injection, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect any user who accesses pages containing the compromised widget. This vulnerability can be exploited to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to the WordPress administration panel, as the attacker can potentially steal session tokens or manipulate user permissions. The attack surface is broadened because the vulnerability affects all users who can access the plugin's widget configuration interface, including authors, editors, and administrators who may inadvertently trigger the execution of malicious code.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate remediation through plugin updates to versions that address the identified vulnerability. Organizations should implement strict access controls and user permission management to limit who can modify widget configurations within the Elementor editor. The principle of least privilege should be enforced, ensuring that only trusted administrators have the ability to modify critical frontend elements. Additionally, implementing Content Security Policy headers can provide an additional layer of protection against script execution, though this should not replace proper input validation and sanitization. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual widget configuration changes or suspicious user activities. Regular security audits of WordPress plugins and themes should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities, and organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block potential XSS attack vectors. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and output escaping practices as outlined in OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines, emphasizing that all user-supplied data must be properly sanitized before being processed or rendered in web applications.