CVE-2024-5889 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability classified under CWE-79, found in the 'Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, and more!' WordPress plugin developed by netweblogic. This vulnerability affects all plugin versions up to and including 6.4.8. The root cause is insufficient input sanitization and output escaping of the 'country' parameter in web page generation. An attacker can craft a malicious URL containing a script payload in the 'country' parameter. When an unsuspecting user clicks this URL, the injected script executes in the context of the victim's browser, potentially allowing theft of cookies, session tokens, or manipulation of the displayed content. The vulnerability requires no authentication but does require user interaction (clicking a malicious link). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.1, indicating a medium severity level, with attack vector network, low attack complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, scope changed, and low impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. No patches or official fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. This vulnerability is significant because the plugin is widely used for event management on WordPress sites, which are common targets for attackers seeking to exploit XSS to conduct phishing, session hijacking, or defacement attacks.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-5889 is on the confidentiality and integrity of affected web applications. Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's browser, which can lead to theft of authentication cookies, session tokens, or other sensitive information. This can enable account takeover or unauthorized actions on behalf of the victim. Additionally, attackers can manipulate the content displayed to users, potentially defacing the site or conducting phishing attacks by injecting fake forms or misleading information. Although availability is not directly impacted, the reputational damage and loss of user trust can be significant. Organizations relying on the affected plugin for event management, ticketing, or booking services may face increased risk of customer data compromise and fraud. The vulnerability's ease of exploitation without authentication and over the network increases the attack surface, especially for public-facing WordPress sites. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate widespread impact, but the medium severity score and common usage of the plugin warrant prompt mitigation.

To mitigate CVE-2024-5889, organizations should first check for and apply any official patches or updates from the plugin vendor once available. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should implement strict input validation and output encoding for the 'country' parameter to neutralize malicious scripts. Employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules targeting reflected XSS payloads can provide an immediate protective layer. Site owners should also enforce Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts and reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. Educating users to avoid clicking suspicious links and monitoring web server logs for unusual query parameters can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, consider temporarily disabling or replacing the plugin with a secure alternative if patching is not feasible. Regular security audits and penetration testing focused on input validation and output encoding practices will help prevent similar vulnerabilities.