CVE-2024-12407 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability classified under CWE-79, found in the Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress plugin for WordPress, developed by murali-indiacitys. This vulnerability affects all plugin versions up to and including 2.06. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of the 'pushnotificationid' parameter during web page generation, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript code. Since the vulnerability is reflected, the malicious payload is embedded in a crafted URL or request parameter, which when clicked or visited by a user, executes in their browser context. The attack vector requires no authentication but does require user interaction, such as clicking a malicious link. The vulnerability impacts the confidentiality and integrity of user data by potentially enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the victim. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.1, reflecting medium severity, with attack vector Network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), user interaction required (UI:R), scope changed (S:C), and low impact on confidentiality and integrity (C:L, I:L), with no impact on availability (A:N). No public exploits are currently known, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly. The plugin is popular among WordPress sites using BuddyPress for social networking features, making the vulnerability relevant to a broad range of websites that rely on this plugin for push notifications.

The vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary scripts in the context of the victim's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, theft of sensitive information such as cookies or credentials, and unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user. This can undermine user trust and lead to data breaches or account compromise. Since the plugin is used in WordPress environments, which power a significant portion of the web, the impact can be widespread. The reflected nature of the XSS requires social engineering to lure users into clicking malicious links, which can be distributed via email, social media, or other channels. Organizations running affected versions of the plugin risk exposure to targeted phishing campaigns and automated attacks exploiting this vulnerability. The scope change in the CVSS vector indicates that the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component, potentially impacting the entire web application session. Although availability is not impacted, the confidentiality and integrity risks are significant enough to warrant urgent remediation.

Organizations should immediately update the Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress plugin to a version that addresses this vulnerability once available. In the absence of an official patch, administrators can implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block malicious payloads targeting the 'pushnotificationid' parameter. Input validation and output encoding should be enforced at the application level to sanitize user-supplied data. Additionally, security teams should educate users about the risks of clicking unsolicited links and implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts. Monitoring web server logs for suspicious requests containing script tags or unusual parameters can help detect exploitation attempts. Employing multi-factor authentication (MFA) reduces the impact of session hijacking. Finally, regular security assessments and plugin audits should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities proactively.