The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-3492 affects the 'Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, and more!' WordPress plugin developed by netweblogic. It is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability categorized under CWE-79, caused by improper neutralization of input during web page generation. Specifically, the plugin fails to adequately sanitize and escape user-supplied attributes passed to its 'event', 'location', and 'event_category' shortcodes. This allows authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. When other users access these pages, the malicious scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or unauthorized actions within the context of the affected site. The vulnerability affects all plugin versions up to and including 6.4.7.3. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.4, indicating a medium severity level, with an attack vector of network, low attack complexity, and requiring privileges but no user interaction. The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the initially compromised component. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the risk remains significant due to the widespread use of WordPress and this plugin in event management scenarios. The vulnerability's exploitation requires authenticated access, limiting exposure to users with at least contributor rights, but such roles are common in multi-user WordPress environments. The lack of proper input validation and output encoding is a common security oversight in web applications, emphasizing the need for secure coding practices in plugin development.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-3492 is on the confidentiality and integrity of affected WordPress sites using the vulnerable Events Manager plugin. Attackers with contributor-level access can inject persistent malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors and administrators. This can lead to session hijacking, theft of sensitive information such as authentication tokens or personal data, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, and potential defacement or redirection attacks. Although availability is not directly impacted, the compromise of user sessions and site integrity can cause reputational damage and loss of user trust. Organizations relying on this plugin for event management may face increased risk of targeted attacks, especially if privileged users are compromised. The vulnerability's requirement for authenticated access reduces the attack surface but does not eliminate risk in environments with multiple contributors or editors. Additionally, the scope change in the CVSS vector indicates that the vulnerability can affect components beyond the plugin itself, potentially impacting other parts of the WordPress site or integrated systems. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests that immediate widespread exploitation is not observed, but the vulnerability remains exploitable and should be addressed promptly to prevent future attacks.

To mitigate CVE-2024-3492, organizations should first check for and apply any available updates or patches from the plugin vendor once released. In the absence of an official patch, administrators can implement the following specific measures: 1) Restrict contributor-level and higher permissions to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious script injection. 2) Employ a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules designed to detect and block typical XSS payloads targeting the affected shortcodes. 3) Conduct manual code review or use security scanning tools to identify and sanitize inputs in the plugin's shortcode handlers, applying proper escaping functions for output. 4) Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts on affected pages. 5) Regularly audit user-generated content for suspicious scripts or anomalies, especially in event, location, and category fields. 6) Educate site administrators and contributors about the risks of injecting untrusted content and enforce strict content submission guidelines. 7) Consider temporarily disabling or replacing the vulnerable plugin with alternative event management solutions until a secure version is available. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, input validation, output encoding, and runtime protections specific to this vulnerability's attack vectors.