CVE-2024-11884 is a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability identified in the gopiplus Wp photo text slider 50 plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 8.1. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied attributes within the 'wp-photo-slider' shortcode. This flaw allows authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. When other users visit these pages, the injected scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed with the victim's privileges. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.4 (medium severity), with an attack vector of network, low attack complexity, requiring privileges (PR:L), no user interaction, and a scope change (S:C). The impact affects confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No patches are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability highlights the risks posed by insufficient input validation in WordPress plugins, especially those that allow user-generated content or shortcode attributes. Organizations using this plugin should monitor for updates and consider temporary mitigations such as limiting contributor permissions or disabling the shortcode until a fix is available.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential compromise of user confidentiality and integrity on affected WordPress sites. Attackers with contributor-level access can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors, including administrators and other privileged users. This can lead to session hijacking, theft of authentication tokens, defacement, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of victims. While availability is not directly impacted, the reputational damage and potential data breaches can be significant. Organizations relying on this plugin for content presentation are at risk of targeted attacks, especially if contributor accounts are compromised or misused. The vulnerability could be leveraged in social engineering or phishing campaigns to escalate access or spread malware. Given WordPress's widespread use, the scope of affected systems is broad, but exploitation requires authenticated access, limiting the attack surface somewhat. Nonetheless, sites with multiple contributors or less stringent access controls are particularly vulnerable.

1. Immediately restrict contributor-level and higher user permissions to trusted individuals only, minimizing the risk of malicious script injection. 2. Disable or remove the 'wp-photo-slider' shortcode usage on affected sites until a security patch or update is released by gopiplus. 3. Monitor official gopiplus channels and WordPress plugin repositories for security updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly. 4. Implement additional server-side input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied shortcode attributes if possible, using security-focused WordPress development best practices. 5. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious shortcode attribute payloads or script injection attempts. 6. Conduct regular security audits of user-generated content and shortcode usage to detect anomalous or malicious inputs. 7. Educate contributors about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce strict content submission guidelines. 8. Consider implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate the impact of any injected scripts by restricting script execution sources.