CVE-2024-10453
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows authenticated WordPress users with contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts into website pages through Elementor's typography settings. The scripts execute whenever users view the compromised pages, enabling session hijacking, defacement, or malware distribution. All WordPress sites using Elementor plugin versions up to 3.25.9 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Elementor Website Builder WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Website Builder by Elementor
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal administrator credentials, redirect users to malicious sites, install backdoors, or completely compromise the WordPress site and potentially the hosting server.
Likely Case
Site defacement, cookie/session theft leading to account takeover, or injection of cryptocurrency miners/adware into visitor browsers.
If Mitigated
Limited to authenticated users only, with minimal impact if proper user role management and content review processes are in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once attacker has contributor credentials. Public proof-of-concept exists in security advisories.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.26.0 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://wordpress.org/plugins/elementor/#developers
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Elementor plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available, or manually update to version 3.26.0+. 5. Clear any caching plugins/CDN caches.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Roles
allTemporarily limit contributor-level access or review all user accounts with editing privileges.
Content Security Policy
linuxImplement CSP headers to restrict script execution sources.
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' https://trusted.cdn.com;"
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Elementor plugin temporarily and use default WordPress editor
- Implement web application firewall rules to block suspicious script injection patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Elementor → Version. If version is 3.25.9 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=elementor --field=version (if WP-CLI installed)Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm Elementor version is 3.26.0 or higher in WordPress plugins list.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with typography parameters
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful contributor login
Network Indicators:
- Injected script tags in page responses containing 'elementor' or 'typography' parameters
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("admin-ajax" AND "typography") OR ("elementor" AND "script" AND POST)