CVE-2024-51633
📋 TL;DR
This CSRF vulnerability in the WordPress Simple Page Specific Sidebars plugin allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions, leading to stored cross-site scripting (XSS). Attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute when other users visit affected pages. WordPress sites using vulnerable versions of this plugin are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- WordPress Simple Page Specific Sidebars Plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could inject persistent malicious scripts that steal administrator credentials, hijack user sessions, deface websites, or redirect visitors to malicious sites.
Likely Case
Attackers create malicious sidebar content containing JavaScript payloads that execute in visitors' browsers, potentially stealing cookies or session tokens.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and content sanitization, the attack would fail or have minimal impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link while logged in.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.14.2
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Simple Page Specific Sidebars'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 2.14.2+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Plugin Deactivation
allDisable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate page-specific-sidebars
CSRF Protection Headers
allImplement anti-CSRF tokens in WordPress forms
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict administrator access to trusted networks only
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Simple Page Specific Sidebars > Version. If version is 2.14.1 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get page-specific-sidebars --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is 2.14.2 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with sidebar modification parameters
- Administrator accounts making unexpected sidebar updates
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing malicious JavaScript in sidebar content parameters
- CSRF attacks targeting wp-admin endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" OR uri_path="/wp-admin/post.php") AND (http_method="POST" AND (param="sidebar_content" OR param="action=save_sidebar"))