CVE-2024-4212 is a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the Themesflat Addons For Elementor plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 2.1.1. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, specifically within several widgets: TF Group Image, TF Nav Menu, TF Posts, TF Woo Product Grid, TF Accordion, and TF Image Box. These widgets fail to adequately sanitize and escape user-supplied attributes, allowing authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript code into pages. When other users visit these compromised pages, the injected scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability requires authentication but no additional user interaction beyond viewing the infected page. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.4, reflecting medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and partial impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. No known public exploits have been reported yet. The vulnerability affects a widely used WordPress plugin, which is popular among websites using the Elementor page builder, increasing the potential attack surface. The issue underscores the importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications to prevent stored XSS attacks.

The impact of CVE-2024-4212 is significant for organizations using the Themesflat Addons For Elementor plugin on WordPress sites. Successful exploitation allows authenticated users with contributor or higher privileges to inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of site visitors and administrators. This can lead to theft of session cookies, enabling attackers to impersonate users with elevated privileges, potentially leading to full site compromise. It can also facilitate defacement, unauthorized content injection, or redirection to phishing or malware sites, damaging organizational reputation and user trust. Since WordPress powers a large portion of the web, and Elementor is a popular page builder, many organizations globally could be affected, especially those that allow contributor-level access to multiple users. The vulnerability does not impact availability directly but compromises confidentiality and integrity of data and user sessions. The requirement for authentication limits exploitation to insiders or compromised accounts, but the ease of exploitation and broad plugin usage increase risk. Without timely remediation, attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent footholds or conduct further attacks within affected environments.

To mitigate CVE-2024-4212, organizations should immediately update the Themesflat Addons For Elementor plugin to a patched version once available. Until a patch is released, restrict contributor-level and higher privileges to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of malicious script injection. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious payloads targeting the vulnerable widgets. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts on affected pages. Regularly audit user-generated content and monitor logs for unusual activity indicative of XSS exploitation attempts. Educate site administrators and content contributors about the risks of injecting untrusted content. Additionally, consider disabling or limiting the use of the vulnerable widgets if feasible. Finally, ensure that all input sanitization and output encoding best practices are followed in custom themes and plugins to prevent similar vulnerabilities.