CVE-2024-10050 – The Elementor Header & Footer Builder WordPress... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-10050?

CVE-2024-10050 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (MEDIUM). The Elementor Header & Footer Builder WordPress plugin has an information disclosure vulnerability that allows authenticated users with Contributor-level access or higher to view draft, private, and password-protected posts they don't own. This affects all WordPress sites using the plugin up to version 1.6.43. The vulnerability exists in the hfe_template shortcode implementation.

📋 TL;DR

The Elementor Header & Footer Builder WordPress plugin has an information disclosure vulnerability that allows authenticated users with Contributor-level access or higher to view draft, private, and password-protected posts they don't own. This affects all WordPress sites using the plugin up to version 1.6.43. The vulnerability exists in the hfe_template shortcode implementation.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Elementor Header & Footer Builder WordPress Plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 1.6.43

Operating Systems: All operating systems running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires WordPress installation with the vulnerable plugin and at least one user with Contributor role or higher.

📦 What is this software?

Elementor Header \& Footer Builder by Brainstormforce

View all CVEs affecting Elementor Header \& Footer Builder →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Sensitive unpublished content (drafts, private posts, confidential password-protected posts) is exposed to unauthorized users, potentially revealing business plans, confidential information, or unpublished content.

🟠

Likely Case

Contributors or authors with access to the WordPress dashboard can view other users' draft posts and unpublished content they shouldn't have access to.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper user role management and minimal contributor accounts, impact is limited to authorized users viewing content they shouldn't see but can't modify.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires authenticated access with Contributor role or higher. The vulnerability is in the hfe_template shortcode which can be called by authenticated users.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 1.6.44 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3173344/header-footer-elementor/trunk/inc/class-header-footer-elementor.php?contextall=1

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Elementor Header & Footer Builder'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 1.6.44+ from WordPress.org and upload manually.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Remove Contributor Role Access

all

Temporarily remove or restrict Contributor-level user accounts until patching is complete.

Disable Plugin

linux

Temporarily deactivate the Elementor Header & Footer Builder plugin if not critical for site functionality.

wp plugin deactivate header-footer-elementor

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict user roles to only essential personnel with minimal necessary permissions
Implement additional access controls or monitoring for content viewing activities

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Installed Plugins → Elementor Header & Footer Builder version. If version is 1.6.43 or lower, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin get header-footer-elementor --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, verify plugin version shows 1.6.44 or higher in WordPress admin panel.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual access to draft/private posts by non-owners
Multiple shortcode calls to hfe_template by Contributor-level users

Network Indicators:

Increased authenticated requests to WordPress admin-ajax.php or similar endpoints

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress" AND (event="post_view" OR event="shortcode_execution") AND user_role="contributor" AND post_status IN ("draft", "private", "password")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-10050

CVSS v3 Score: 4.3 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

CWE: CWE-200

Published: October 24, 2024

Last Updated: January 29, 2025

🔗 References

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