CVE-2024-12468 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the WP Datepicker plugin for WordPress, maintained by fahadmahmood. The flaw exists in all versions up to and including 2.1.4, where the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape user input passed via the 'wpdp_get_selected_datepicker' parameter. This improper neutralization of input during web page generation (CWE-79) allows unauthenticated attackers to craft malicious URLs containing JavaScript payloads. When a victim clicks such a link, the injected script executes in the context of the vulnerable website, potentially leading to theft of cookies, session tokens, or other sensitive information, as well as manipulation of the webpage content. The vulnerability requires no authentication but does require user interaction (clicking a malicious link). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.1, reflecting a medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, and impacts on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no official patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is significant because WordPress is widely used globally, and plugins like WP Datepicker are common components in many websites, increasing the attack surface.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is on the confidentiality and integrity of affected websites and their users. Successful exploitation can lead to theft of user credentials, session hijacking, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites. This can damage the reputation of organizations, lead to data breaches, and facilitate further attacks such as phishing or malware distribution. Since the vulnerability is exploitable by unauthenticated attackers and only requires user interaction, it poses a moderate risk to any website using the vulnerable plugin. The scope includes all websites running the affected versions of WP Datepicker, which may include small businesses, blogs, and e-commerce sites. Although availability is not impacted, the indirect consequences of compromised user trust and potential regulatory penalties can be significant.

Organizations should immediately verify if they use the WP Datepicker plugin and identify the version in use. Since no official patch is linked yet, temporary mitigations include disabling or removing the plugin until a fixed version is released. Web application firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to detect and block suspicious requests containing malicious payloads targeting the 'wpdp_get_selected_datepicker' parameter. Website administrators should implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution sources, reducing the impact of XSS attacks. Additionally, educating users to avoid clicking suspicious links and monitoring website logs for unusual activity can help detect exploitation attempts. Once a patch is available, prompt updating is critical. Developers should also review and improve input validation and output encoding practices in the plugin codebase to prevent similar issues.