CVE-2024-11898 is a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability classified under CWE-79, found in the WordPress plugin 'Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests' by akashmalik. This plugin is designed to boost subscribers, traffic, and engagement through giveaways and contests. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 2.6.9, specifically in the 'swin-campaign' shortcode. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied attributes, which allows authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. When other users access these pages, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially compromising session tokens, redirecting users, or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of the victim. The vulnerability requires no user interaction but does require authenticated access, which limits exploitation to users who already have some level of trust within the WordPress environment. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.4, reflecting a medium severity due to the ease of exploitation by authenticated users and the potential impact on confidentiality and integrity, but no impact on availability. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability poses a risk to websites using this plugin, especially those with multiple contributors or less restrictive user roles.

The impact of CVE-2024-11898 can be significant for organizations using the affected WordPress plugin. Attackers with contributor or higher privileges can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors or administrators, potentially leading to session hijacking, theft of sensitive information, unauthorized actions, or defacement. This undermines the confidentiality and integrity of the affected websites and can damage user trust and brand reputation. Since the vulnerability does not affect availability, denial-of-service is unlikely. However, the ability to execute persistent XSS can facilitate further attacks such as privilege escalation or malware distribution. Organizations with multiple contributors or public-facing WordPress sites that rely on this plugin for marketing and engagement are at higher risk. The threat is global, affecting any site using the plugin, but especially those with less stringent user role management or high visitor traffic.

To mitigate CVE-2024-11898, organizations should first check for and apply any available patches or updates from the plugin vendor once released. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should restrict contributor-level and higher permissions to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious input. Implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block XSS payloads in shortcode attributes can provide temporary protection. Additionally, site owners should audit existing content for injected scripts and remove any suspicious code. Employing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can reduce the impact of XSS by restricting script execution sources. Regularly reviewing user roles and permissions, and educating contributors about safe input practices, will further reduce risk. Finally, monitoring logs for unusual activity or script injections can help detect exploitation attempts early.