The ViewMedica 9 plugin for WordPress, widely used for embedding medical videos and multimedia content, contains a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-12170. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.4.15 due to missing or incorrect nonce validation on the 'Viewmedica-Admin' page. Nonces are security tokens used to verify that requests originate from legitimate users and not from malicious third-party sites. The absence or improper implementation of nonce validation allows an attacker to craft a malicious request that, when executed by an authenticated site administrator, can inject arbitrary SQL queries into the backend database. This injection can compromise data integrity and availability by modifying or deleting data. The attack vector requires no authentication by the attacker but does require user interaction, specifically the administrator clicking a malicious link or visiting a crafted webpage. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 reflects a medium severity level, with the attack vector being network-based, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction necessary. The vulnerability scope is unchanged, affecting only the vulnerable plugin instance. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the risk remains significant due to the potential impact on sensitive medical content and administrative data. The plugin is commonly used in healthcare-related WordPress sites, which may contain sensitive patient or organizational information.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is on the integrity and availability of the affected WordPress sites using the ViewMedica 9 plugin. An attacker exploiting this flaw can inject arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to unauthorized data modification, deletion, or corruption. This could disrupt the delivery of medical multimedia content, degrade user trust, and potentially expose or alter sensitive healthcare-related information. Since the attack requires an administrator to perform an action, the risk is somewhat mitigated by the need for user interaction, but social engineering techniques could easily facilitate this. Organizations relying on this plugin for patient education or medical information dissemination could face operational disruptions, reputational damage, and compliance issues, especially in regulated environments such as healthcare. The vulnerability does not directly expose confidential data but can indirectly lead to data loss or service outages.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should immediately update the ViewMedica 9 plugin to a version that includes proper nonce validation once released by the vendor. Until a patch is available, administrators should restrict access to the WordPress admin interface to trusted networks and users only, minimizing exposure to potential CSRF attacks. Implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious cross-site requests targeting the 'Viewmedica-Admin' page can provide temporary protection. Additionally, educating administrators about the risks of clicking unknown or suspicious links while logged into the WordPress admin panel is critical to reduce the likelihood of successful social engineering. Regularly auditing plugin permissions and monitoring database integrity can help detect any unauthorized changes early. Finally, consider disabling or removing the plugin if it is not essential to reduce the attack surface.