CVE-2024-12541 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the Chative Live chat and Chatbot plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 1.1. The root cause is the absence or improper implementation of nonce validation in the add_chative_widget_action() function, which is responsible for handling requests that modify the chat widget's configuration. Nonces are security tokens used to verify that a request originates from a legitimate source; their absence allows attackers to craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, can alter the channel ID or organization ID parameters. This manipulation effectively redirects the live chat widget to an attacker-controlled channel, potentially enabling attackers to intercept or manipulate communications, conduct phishing attacks, or degrade service integrity. The attack vector requires no privileges or authentication on the attacker’s part but does require user interaction, specifically that an administrator is tricked into clicking a malicious link or visiting a crafted webpage. The vulnerability impacts the integrity and availability of the chat widget but does not directly expose confidential data. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4, indicating a medium severity level, with attack vector being network, low attack complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, and unchanged scope. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly. The plugin is used in WordPress environments, which are widespread globally, especially in small to medium enterprises and organizations relying on WordPress for customer engagement via live chat.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential redirection of the live chat widget to an attacker-controlled channel, which can undermine the integrity and availability of customer communication channels. This could enable attackers to impersonate support agents, capture sensitive customer information, or conduct social engineering attacks through the compromised chat interface. Organizations relying on the Chative plugin for customer support risk reputational damage, loss of customer trust, and potential data leakage if attackers leverage the redirection for phishing or data interception. Although the vulnerability does not directly expose confidential data or allow remote code execution, the indirect consequences of compromised chat channels can be significant. The requirement for user interaction (administrator clicking a malicious link) limits the ease of exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where administrators may be targeted via spear-phishing. The vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin up to 1.1, so any organization using these versions is at risk. Given the widespread use of WordPress and live chat plugins, the scope of affected systems is broad, particularly in sectors with high customer interaction such as e-commerce, education, and services.

To mitigate CVE-2024-12541, organizations should first check for and apply any available updates or patches from the Chative plugin vendor once released. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should consider disabling the plugin temporarily or restricting administrative access to trusted networks to reduce exposure. Implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the add_chative_widget_action() endpoint can provide interim protection. Educating administrators about the risks of clicking untrusted links and employing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for WordPress admin accounts can reduce the likelihood of successful exploitation. Additionally, monitoring logs for unusual changes to chat widget configurations or unexpected redirects can help detect exploitation attempts early. Plugin developers should implement proper nonce validation and CSRF protections in the affected function to prevent unauthorized request execution. Regular security audits of WordPress plugins and minimizing the use of unnecessary plugins can also reduce attack surface.