CVE-2024-4541 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in the Custom Product List Table plugin for WordPress, affecting all versions up to and including 3.0.0. The vulnerability stems from the plugin's failure to properly implement nonce validation—a security token mechanism designed to ensure that requests modifying product data originate from legitimate users. Due to this missing or incorrect nonce validation, an attacker can craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated site administrator (via clicking a specially crafted link), perform unauthorized actions such as adding, deleting, bulk editing, approving, or canceling products within the plugin's interface. Since the attacker does not require authentication themselves but relies on social engineering to induce administrator interaction, the attack vector is remote and requires user interaction. The vulnerability impacts the integrity of the product data managed by the plugin but does not directly compromise confidentiality or availability. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 4.3 (medium), reflecting the ease of exploitation with user interaction and the limited scope of impact. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the risk remains significant for sites using this plugin, especially those with multiple administrators or high-value product catalogs. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper nonce implementation in WordPress plugins to prevent CSRF attacks.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-4541 is on the integrity of product data within WordPress sites using the vulnerable Custom Product List Table plugin. An attacker can manipulate product listings by adding, deleting, or modifying products without authorization, potentially disrupting e-commerce operations, causing financial loss, or damaging brand reputation. Since the attack requires an administrator to interact with a malicious link, the risk is mitigated somewhat by user awareness but remains significant in environments with multiple administrators or less security-conscious users. There is no direct impact on confidentiality or availability, so data leakage or denial of service are not immediate concerns. However, unauthorized product modifications can lead to incorrect pricing, inventory errors, or fraudulent listings, indirectly affecting business operations and customer trust. Organizations relying on this plugin for product management should consider the threat serious enough to warrant prompt remediation to avoid potential exploitation.

To mitigate CVE-2024-4541, organizations should first check for and apply any official patches or updates released by the plugin vendor that address nonce validation issues. If no patch is available, administrators can implement manual nonce checks in the plugin code by adding WordPress’s standard nonce verification functions (e.g., wp_verify_nonce) to all product modification actions. Additionally, restricting administrative access to trusted users and enforcing multi-factor authentication can reduce the risk of successful exploitation. Educating administrators about the risks of clicking unsolicited links and implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts may also help. Monitoring logs for unusual product modification activities and employing web application firewalls (WAFs) with CSRF protection rules can provide additional layers of defense. Finally, consider temporarily disabling or replacing the plugin if immediate patching is not feasible, especially on high-value or public-facing e-commerce sites.