CVE-2024-1510 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate, a popular WordPress plugin developed by gn_themes. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 7.0.2. The root cause is insufficient sanitization and escaping of user-supplied input in the su_tooltip shortcode, which is used to add tooltip functionality to content. Authenticated users with contributor-level or higher permissions can exploit this flaw by injecting arbitrary JavaScript code into pages or posts via shortcode attributes or tags. Because the vulnerability is stored, the malicious script persists in the database and executes whenever any user accesses the infected page, potentially compromising user sessions, stealing cookies, or performing unauthorized actions on behalf of users. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.4, reflecting medium severity, with an attack vector of network, low attack complexity, requiring privileges (contributor or higher), no user interaction, and a scope change. Although no public exploits are known at this time, the vulnerability poses a significant risk in multi-user WordPress environments where contributors can add content. The flaw falls under CWE-79, indicating improper neutralization of input during web page generation. The vulnerability was published on February 20, 2024, and assigned by Wordfence. No official patches or updates are listed yet, so mitigation may require manual intervention or plugin updates once available.

The impact of CVE-2024-1510 can be significant for organizations using the WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate, especially those with multiple contributors or editors. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to inject persistent malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of any user viewing the compromised content. This can lead to session hijacking, theft of authentication tokens, unauthorized actions performed with victim user privileges, defacement of website content, or distribution of malware. Since the vulnerability requires contributor-level access, it primarily threatens organizations that allow external or less-trusted users to add or edit content. The scope change in the CVSS vector indicates that the vulnerability could affect resources beyond the initially compromised component, potentially impacting the entire WordPress site. Although no known exploits are currently reported, the medium severity score suggests that attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges or move laterally within a compromised environment. The availability of the site is not directly impacted, but the integrity and confidentiality of user data and site content are at risk. Organizations relying on WordPress for publishing, e-commerce, or internal portals should consider this a moderate risk that warrants prompt attention.

To mitigate CVE-2024-1510, organizations should first check for and apply any official updates or patches released by the plugin vendor gn_themes as soon as they become available. Until a patch is released, administrators should restrict contributor-level permissions to trusted users only and review existing user roles to minimize the risk of malicious content injection. Implementing a web application firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block suspicious shortcode attributes or script injections can provide an additional layer of defense. Site administrators should audit existing content for suspicious or unauthorized shortcodes and remove or sanitize them. Employing security plugins that scan for XSS payloads and monitoring logs for unusual activity related to shortcode usage is recommended. Additionally, enforcing strict content security policies (CSP) can help mitigate the impact of injected scripts by restricting script execution sources. Educating content contributors about safe input practices and the risks of injecting untrusted code is also beneficial. Finally, regular backups and incident response plans should be in place to recover quickly if exploitation occurs.