CVE-2024-13662 identifies a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the eHive Objects Image Grid plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 2.4.1. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied attributes passed via the 'ehive_objects_image_grid' shortcode. Authenticated users with contributor-level privileges or higher can exploit this flaw by injecting arbitrary JavaScript code into pages or posts. When other users visit these pages, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially compromising session tokens, cookies, or enabling further attacks such as privilege escalation or defacement. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond visiting the infected page and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.4, reflecting medium severity. The attack vector is network-based with low attack complexity and requires privileges (PR:L). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the attacker’s privileges. There are no known public exploits or patches available at the time of publication, emphasizing the need for proactive mitigation. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-79, which covers improper neutralization of input during web page generation, a common vector for XSS attacks in web applications.

The impact of CVE-2024-13662 is significant for organizations using the eHive Objects Image Grid plugin on WordPress sites, especially those allowing contributor-level user roles. Successful exploitation can lead to session hijacking, theft of sensitive user data, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, and website defacement. This undermines user trust and can lead to reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and potential data breaches. Since the vulnerability allows script execution in the context of any user viewing the compromised page, it can affect administrators and other privileged users, potentially enabling privilege escalation. The medium CVSS score reflects that while the vulnerability requires authenticated access, the ease of exploitation and the broad impact on confidentiality and integrity make it a notable risk. Organizations with public-facing WordPress sites that use this plugin are at risk of targeted attacks, especially if they have multiple contributors or editors.

To mitigate CVE-2024-13662, organizations should first check for and apply any official patches or updates from vernonsystems once available. In the absence of patches, administrators should restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only and consider temporarily disabling the eHive Objects Image Grid plugin if feasible. Implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block malicious shortcode attribute payloads can reduce risk. Additionally, site owners should audit all existing content for injected scripts and sanitize or remove suspicious entries. Employing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can help limit the impact of injected scripts by restricting script sources. Regularly monitoring logs for unusual activity and educating contributors about safe content practices are also recommended. Finally, consider using security plugins that provide enhanced input validation and output encoding for shortcodes and user-generated content.