CVE-2024-6725
📋 TL;DR
This stored XSS vulnerability in Formidable Forms WordPress plugin allows authenticated attackers with form editing permissions (Subscriber-level or higher) to inject malicious scripts into pages. When users visit compromised pages, the scripts execute in their browsers, potentially stealing session cookies or performing unauthorized actions. All WordPress sites using Formidable Forms versions up to 6.11.1 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Formidable Forms WordPress Plugin
📦 What is this software?
Formidable Forms by Strategy11
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers steal administrator session cookies, gain full site control, deface websites, or redirect users to malicious sites, potentially leading to complete site compromise and data theft.
Likely Case
Attackers with subscriber accounts inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies, perform actions as authenticated users, or display phishing content to visitors.
If Mitigated
With proper user role management and input validation, impact is limited to low-privileged user sessions and minor content manipulation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access with form editing permissions. The vulnerability is straightforward to exploit once an attacker obtains valid credentials.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.11.2 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3128202/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find Formidable Forms and click 'Update Now'. 4. Verify update completes successfully.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Roles
allTemporarily remove form editing permissions from Subscriber and other low-privilege roles until patch is applied.
Use WordPress role management plugins or custom code to modify capabilities
Content Security Policy
allImplement CSP headers to restrict script execution from untrusted sources.
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "script-src 'self'"
Or use WordPress security plugins to configure CSP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Formidable Forms plugin completely until patched
- Implement web application firewall with XSS protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → Formidable Forms → Version. If version is 6.11.1 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name=formidable --field=version (if WP-CLI installed)Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify version shows 6.11.2 or higher in WordPress admin plugins page.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual form editing activity by low-privilege users
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by form modifications
Network Indicators:
- Suspicious script tags in form submissions
- Unexpected external script loads from form pages
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("formidable" OR "form edit") AND user_role="subscriber"