CVE-2024-12581 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the Gutenberg Blocks with AI by Kadence WP – Page Builder Features plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 3.2.53. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of input data within the plugin's admin settings, which allows authenticated users with administrator-level permissions or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. This malicious code is stored persistently and executed whenever any user views the infected page. The vulnerability specifically impacts multi-site WordPress installations or those where the unfiltered_html capability is disabled, limiting the attack surface but still posing a significant risk in these environments. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.4 (medium severity), reflecting the requirement for high privileges (administrator), no user interaction, and network attack vector, with limited impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. Exploitation could lead to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or unauthorized actions performed in the context of the victim’s browser. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been reported yet. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, indicating improper neutralization of input during web page generation. No official patches have been linked yet, so mitigation relies on configuration changes and monitoring until updates are available.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-12581 is the potential for authenticated administrators to inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of users visiting affected pages. This can lead to session hijacking, theft of sensitive information, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, compromising confidentiality and integrity. Since exploitation requires administrator-level access, the threat is somewhat mitigated by the need for high privileges, but insider threats or compromised admin accounts could leverage this vulnerability. Multi-site WordPress installations and those with unfiltered_html disabled are specifically at risk, which includes many enterprise and managed hosting environments. The vulnerability does not affect availability directly but can undermine trust and lead to further compromise if exploited. Organizations relying on this plugin for content creation and AI-enhanced page building may face reputational damage and potential data breaches if attackers exploit this flaw. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often target WordPress plugins due to their widespread use.

1. Immediately restrict administrator access to trusted personnel and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as MFA to reduce the risk of privilege abuse. 2. Monitor and audit admin activity logs for suspicious changes or script injections in plugin settings. 3. Disable or limit the use of the Gutenberg Blocks with AI plugin in multi-site environments or where unfiltered_html is disabled until a patch is available. 4. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts targeting this plugin’s admin endpoints. 5. Educate administrators on the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce strict content input validation policies. 6. Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins, and apply security patches promptly once the vendor releases a fix for this vulnerability. 7. Consider isolating or sandboxing multi-site installations to limit the impact scope if exploitation occurs. 8. Backup site data frequently to enable recovery in case of compromise. 9. Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution sources, mitigating the impact of injected scripts. 10. Engage with the plugin vendor or community to track patch releases and vulnerability disclosures.