CVE-2024-12611 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability found in the dasinfomedia School Management System plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 93.0.0. The vulnerability arises due to the plugin's failure to properly sanitize and escape user input in the 'title' parameter, which is reflected in web pages. This allows unauthenticated attackers to craft malicious URLs containing JavaScript payloads that execute in the context of a victim's browser when they click the link. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), indicating that the plugin does not properly enforce authorization checks on certain inputs or actions, compounding the risk. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium), with attack vector network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction required (UI:N), and impacts integrity (I:L) but not confidentiality or availability. Although no public exploits are known, the vulnerability could be leveraged for session hijacking, defacement, or redirecting users to malicious sites. The plugin is widely used in educational institutions running WordPress, making the vulnerability relevant to organizations managing school data and communications. The lack of patches or official fixes at the time of disclosure increases the urgency for mitigation.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-12611 is on the integrity of affected systems and the security of users interacting with the vulnerable plugin. Attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of a victim’s browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, unauthorized actions, or phishing attacks. While confidentiality and availability are not directly compromised, the integrity breach can facilitate further attacks or unauthorized data manipulation. Educational institutions using the plugin may face reputational damage, loss of user trust, and potential regulatory consequences if student or staff data is compromised. The vulnerability’s ease of exploitation (no authentication or user interaction beyond clicking a link) increases the risk of widespread attacks, especially in environments where users are less security-aware. Organizations worldwide using this plugin in their WordPress sites are at risk, particularly those with large user bases or public-facing portals.

1. Immediate mitigation should include disabling or restricting access to the vulnerable plugin until an official patch is released. 2. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block malicious payloads targeting the 'title' parameter. 3. Educate users and administrators to avoid clicking suspicious links and to verify URLs before interaction. 4. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. 5. Regularly monitor web server logs for unusual requests containing suspicious parameters. 6. If possible, sanitize and validate all user inputs on the server side before rendering them in responses. 7. Keep WordPress core and all plugins updated, and subscribe to vendor security advisories for timely patching. 8. Consider isolating the School Management System plugin in a sandboxed environment to limit potential damage. 9. Conduct security audits and penetration testing focused on input validation and authorization controls.