CVE-2024-1124 is a vulnerability identified in the EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings and Tickets plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 3.4.1. The vulnerability arises from a missing authorization check (CWE-862) in the ep_send_attendees_email() function, which is responsible for sending emails to event attendees. Due to the lack of proper capability verification, any authenticated user with subscriber-level privileges or higher can invoke this function to send arbitrary emails with arbitrary content from the compromised WordPress site. This flaw does not require user interaction beyond authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.3 (medium severity), reflecting its limited impact on confidentiality (no data disclosure), integrity (possible email content manipulation), and no impact on availability. The attack vector is network-based with low attack complexity and requires low privileges but no user interaction. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability could be leveraged for phishing campaigns, spam distribution, or social engineering attacks that appear to originate from a trusted domain. The plugin is widely used in WordPress environments for event management, making this vulnerability relevant to organizations relying on this plugin for their event communications. The absence of a patch at the time of reporting necessitates immediate mitigation steps to prevent exploitation.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-1124 is the unauthorized sending of arbitrary emails from a legitimate WordPress site, which can severely damage an organization's reputation and trustworthiness. Attackers can exploit this to conduct phishing campaigns, distribute malware, or perform social engineering attacks that appear credible because the emails originate from a trusted domain. Although the vulnerability does not directly expose sensitive data or disrupt service availability, the indirect consequences can be significant, including potential credential theft, malware infections, and regulatory compliance issues related to email misuse. Organizations using the affected plugin may face increased spam complaints, blacklisting of their email domains, and loss of customer confidence. The requirement for authenticated access limits exploitation to users who already have some level of access, but subscriber-level accounts are common and often not tightly controlled, increasing the attack surface. This vulnerability is particularly impactful for organizations that rely heavily on email communications for event management and customer engagement.

To mitigate CVE-2024-1124, organizations should immediately update the EventPrime plugin to a patched version once available from the vendor. Until a patch is released, administrators should restrict subscriber-level and other low-privilege user accounts from accessing or triggering the email sending functionality, possibly by disabling or limiting plugin features via role management plugins or custom code. Implement strict user account management policies, including regular review and removal of unnecessary subscriber accounts. Monitoring outgoing emails for unusual volume or content can help detect exploitation attempts early. Additionally, organizations should educate users about phishing risks and implement email authentication mechanisms such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to reduce the impact of malicious emails sent from compromised accounts. Employing web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable function may provide temporary protection. Finally, maintain regular backups and incident response plans to quickly address any compromise resulting from exploitation.