CVE-2024-5628
📋 TL;DR
The Avada WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its fusion_button shortcode that allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious scripts into web pages. These scripts execute when users visit the compromised pages, potentially stealing credentials or performing unauthorized actions. All WordPress sites using Avada plugin versions up to 3.11.9 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Avada | Website Builder For WordPress & eCommerce
📦 What is this software?
Avada by Theme Fusion
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal administrator credentials, deface websites, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, potentially leading to complete site compromise.
Likely Case
Attackers with contributor access inject malicious scripts that steal user session cookies or credentials when visitors view compromised pages, leading to account takeover.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output escaping, malicious scripts are neutralized before execution, preventing any client-side code injection.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires authenticated access (contributor or higher). Attack involves injecting malicious attributes into fusion_button shortcode.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.11.10
Vendor Advisory: https://avada.com/blog/version-7-11-9-security-update/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. 3. Find Avada plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if update is available. 5. Alternatively, download version 3.11.10+ from WordPress repository and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Roles
allLimit contributor-level access to trusted users only and implement principle of least privilege.
Content Security Policy
linuxImplement strict CSP headers to mitigate XSS impact by restricting script execution sources.
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
Header set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
Header set X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove contributor and author roles from untrusted users
- Implement web application firewall with XSS protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Installed Plugins for Avada version. If version is 3.11.9 or lower, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=avada --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify Avada plugin version shows 3.11.10 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to WordPress admin-ajax.php with fusion_button parameters
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful contributor-level login
- Unexpected modifications to posts/pages containing fusion_button shortcodes
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains from your WordPress site
- Unusual traffic patterns to pages containing fusion_button elements
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("fusion_button" OR "avada") AND ("script" OR "onclick" OR "javascript:")