CVE-2024-8681 – The Premium Addons for Elementor WordPress plug... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-8681?

CVE-2024-8681 has a CVSS score of 6.4 (MEDIUM). The Premium Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its Media Grid widget. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that execute when users view affected pages. This affects all versions up to 4.10.52.

📋 TL;DR

The Premium Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin has a stored XSS vulnerability in its Media Grid widget. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious scripts that execute when users view affected pages. This affects all versions up to 4.10.52.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Premium Addons for Elementor WordPress plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 4.10.52

Operating Systems: Any OS running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires WordPress with Elementor and the Premium Addons plugin installed. Contributor-level access or higher needed for exploitation.

📦 What is this software?

Premium Addons For Elementor by Leap13

View all CVEs affecting Premium Addons For Elementor →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers could steal admin credentials, deface websites, redirect users to malicious sites, or install backdoors for persistent access.

🟠

Likely Case

Attackers with contributor accounts inject malicious scripts to steal user session cookies or display unwanted content.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper user role management and input validation, impact is limited to low-privilege account compromise.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward once attacker has contributor-level credentials.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 4.10.53 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3158331/

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Premium Addons for Elementor'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. If not, download latest version from WordPress repository and manually update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Media Grid Widget

all

Temporarily disable the vulnerable Media Grid widget until patching

Navigate to Elementor → Settings → Advanced → Disable Media Grid widget

Restrict User Roles

all

Limit contributor-level access to trusted users only

Review WordPress Users → All Users and remove unnecessary contributor accounts

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit script execution
Use web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads in Media Grid parameters

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check plugin version in WordPress admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins. If version is 4.10.52 or lower, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin list --name='premium-addons-for-elementor' --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, verify version is 4.10.53 or higher. Test Media Grid widget functionality to ensure it works without errors.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual POST requests to Media Grid widget endpoints
Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful contributor login

Network Indicators:

Script tags in Media Grid parameter values
Unexpected outbound connections after page loads

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND ("premium-grid" OR "media-grid") AND ("script" OR "onerror" OR "javascript:")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-8681

CVSS v3 Score: 6.4 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

CWE: CWE-79

Published: September 27, 2024

Last Updated: October 4, 2024

🔗 References

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