The Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share for WordPress contains a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-11252. This vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of input during web page generation (CWE-79), specifically involving the heateor_mastodon_share parameter. All plugin versions up to and including 3.3.69 are affected. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious URL containing a script payload in this parameter. When a victim clicks the link, the injected script executes in their browser context, potentially allowing theft of cookies, session tokens, or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of the user. The vulnerability does not require authentication but does require user interaction (clicking the malicious link). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.1, indicating medium severity, with a network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, and impacts on confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be considered exploitable. The plugin is widely used on WordPress sites globally, making this a significant risk for many organizations. The lack of a patch link suggests a fix may be pending or recently released. This vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications, especially in popular CMS plugins.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-11252 is the compromise of user confidentiality and integrity on affected WordPress sites using the vulnerable Sassy Social Share plugin. Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's browser, potentially stealing session cookies, login credentials, or other sensitive information. This can lead to account takeover, unauthorized actions, or further exploitation such as pivoting to internal networks. Although availability is not impacted, the reputational damage and loss of user trust can be significant for organizations. Since the attack requires user interaction, phishing or social engineering campaigns may be used to increase success rates. The vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin up to 3.3.69, which is widely deployed across many WordPress sites globally, including corporate, governmental, and personal websites. The medium severity score reflects a moderate but tangible risk that can be exploited remotely without authentication. Organizations with high web traffic or sensitive user data are at greater risk of targeted exploitation. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate widespread impact but does not reduce the urgency to remediate.

1. Immediately monitor for plugin updates from the vendor and apply patches as soon as they become available to fix the input sanitization and output escaping issues. 2. In the absence of a patch, consider temporarily disabling or removing the Sassy Social Share plugin to eliminate the attack surface. 3. Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules specifically designed to detect and block reflected XSS attack patterns, particularly targeting the heateor_mastodon_share parameter. 4. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers accessing the site. 5. Educate users and administrators about the risks of clicking suspicious links and encourage cautious behavior to reduce successful phishing attempts. 6. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans on WordPress installations and plugins to detect similar issues proactively. 7. Review and harden input validation and output encoding practices in custom code and third-party plugins to prevent future XSS vulnerabilities. 8. Monitor web server and application logs for unusual requests or error patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.