CVE-2024-50655 identifies a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in emlog pro, a content management system, affecting versions up to 2.3.18. The vulnerability arises from insufficient input sanitization in the article publishing functionality, allowing authenticated users with publishing rights to embed malicious JavaScript code within articles. When other users view these compromised articles, the injected scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the victim. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N) indicates that the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, requires privileges (authenticated user with publishing rights), and user interaction (viewing the malicious article). The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially vulnerable component, impacting confidentiality and integrity but not availability. No public exploits have been reported yet, and no official patches are linked, suggesting that the vulnerability is newly disclosed. The CWE-79 classification confirms this is a classic reflected or stored XSS issue. This vulnerability is particularly concerning for organizations relying on emlog pro for publishing content, as it can be leveraged to target site visitors or administrators, potentially leading to broader compromise or reputational damage.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-50655 is the compromise of confidentiality and integrity for users interacting with the affected emlog pro platform. Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim’s browser, enabling theft of session cookies, credentials, or other sensitive information. This can lead to account takeover or unauthorized actions performed with the victim’s privileges. Although availability is not directly impacted, the trustworthiness of the content and the platform’s reputation can be severely damaged. Organizations using emlog pro for public-facing websites or internal portals risk exposing their users to phishing, malware delivery, or further exploitation through chained attacks. The requirement for authenticated publishing privileges limits the attacker scope but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments with multiple contributors or weak access controls. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not preclude future active exploitation. Overall, the vulnerability can facilitate targeted attacks against users and undermine organizational security posture, especially in sectors relying heavily on web content management.

To mitigate CVE-2024-50655, organizations should first restrict publishing permissions to trusted and verified users only, minimizing the risk of malicious content injection. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied content, especially in article publishing workflows, to neutralize potentially harmful scripts. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. Regularly audit published content for suspicious JavaScript or unexpected HTML elements. Monitor user activity logs for unusual publishing behavior or privilege escalations. Since no official patches are currently linked, organizations should engage with emlog pro vendors or community to obtain timely updates or workarounds. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block XSS payloads targeting the platform. Educate content contributors about secure publishing practices and the risks of embedding untrusted code. Finally, maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential exploitation.