CVE-2024-4103 is a medium-severity vulnerability classified as CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery) found in the ADFO – Custom data in admin dashboard plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 1.9.0. The root cause is the absence or improper implementation of nonce validation on several functions hooked through the controller() function within the plugin. Nonces in WordPress are security tokens used to verify that requests are intentional and originate from legitimate users. Without proper nonce checks, attackers can craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator (via clicking a link or visiting a malicious page), result in unauthorized changes to the plugin’s settings. This attack vector does not require the attacker to be authenticated but does require the victim to be an administrator who performs an action that triggers the forged request. The vulnerability impacts the integrity of the plugin’s configuration but does not expose sensitive data or disrupt service availability. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.3 reflects the network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction and limited impact on integrity only. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly. The lack of available patches at the time of disclosure means administrators must rely on temporary mitigations until updates are released.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-4103 is on the integrity of the affected WordPress plugin’s settings. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can alter plugin configurations without authorization, potentially enabling further malicious activity or disrupting site functionality. While confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, unauthorized configuration changes can lead to indirect risks such as privilege escalation, data manipulation, or enabling backdoors if the plugin controls critical site features. Since exploitation requires an administrator to be tricked into clicking a link, the risk is somewhat mitigated by user awareness but remains significant in environments with multiple administrators or less security-conscious users. Organizations relying on this plugin for critical dashboard customizations may face operational disruptions or security breaches if exploited. The vulnerability’s network accessibility and lack of required privileges increase its attractiveness to attackers targeting WordPress sites, which are widely used globally.

1. Immediate mitigation involves educating administrators to avoid clicking suspicious links or visiting untrusted websites while logged into the WordPress admin dashboard. 2. Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious POST requests targeting the plugin’s endpoints, especially those lacking valid nonce tokens. 3. Restrict administrative access by IP whitelisting or VPN to reduce exposure to CSRF attacks. 4. Monitor plugin settings and audit logs for unauthorized changes to detect exploitation attempts early. 5. Disable or remove the ADFO plugin if it is not essential until a patched version is released. 6. Follow the plugin vendor’s updates closely and apply security patches immediately once available. 7. Consider using security plugins that enforce strict nonce validation or provide enhanced CSRF protections. 8. Regularly review and minimize the number of users with administrator privileges to reduce the attack surface.