CVE-2024-53750
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Maeve Lander PayPal Responder WordPress plugin that can lead to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing malicious actions that inject persistent scripts into the website. This affects all WordPress sites running PayPal Responder plugin versions up to and including 1.2.
💻 Affected Systems
- Maeve Lander PayPal Responder WordPress 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
An attacker could compromise administrator accounts, inject malicious JavaScript that steals session cookies or credentials, deface the website, or redirect users to malicious sites, potentially leading to complete site takeover.
Likely Case
Attackers would inject malicious scripts that steal administrator session cookies or credentials, allowing them to gain administrative access to the WordPress site and potentially install backdoors or malware.
If Mitigated
With proper CSRF protections and content security policies, the attack would be blocked at the initial CSRF stage, preventing any XSS payload from being stored or executed.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires tricking an authenticated administrator into clicking a malicious link or visiting a compromised page. The CSRF leads to stored XSS, making the attack persistent.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 1.2
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'PayPal Responder' plugin. 4. Check for available updates. 5. If update is available, click 'Update Now'. 6. If no update is available, deactivate and delete the plugin immediately.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement CSRF Tokens Manually
WordPressAdd CSRF protection tokens to all form submissions and AJAX requests in the plugin if you cannot update immediately.
Content Security Policy (CSP)
allImplement a strict Content Security Policy header to block inline scripts and unauthorized script sources.
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
Or add to WordPress functions.php: header("Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'");
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable or remove the PayPal Responder plugin immediately
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block CSRF attempts and XSS payloads
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for 'PayPal Responder' version 1.2 or earlierCheck Version:
wp plugin list --name='paypal-responder' --field=version (if WP-CLI is installed)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify plugin version is higher than 1.2 or that the plugin is completely removed from the site📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to PayPal Responder admin endpoints without referrer headers
- Administrative actions from unexpected IP addresses or user agents
- JavaScript injection patterns in plugin settings or database
Network Indicators:
- CSRF attack patterns with missing or forged referrer headers
- Unexpected iframe or form submissions to admin-ajax.php or plugin endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND (uri_path="/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" OR uri_path CONTAINS "paypal-responder") AND http_method="POST" AND (referrer="" OR NOT referrer CONTAINS own_domain)