The Floating Social Buttons plugin for WordPress, developed by bhagirath25, suffers from a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-6405. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.5 due to the absence or improper implementation of nonce validation in the floating_social_buttons_option() function. Nonces in WordPress are security tokens used to verify that requests originate from legitimate users and not from malicious third parties. Without proper nonce checks, attackers can craft malicious web requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator (e.g., by clicking a specially crafted link), cause unauthorized changes to the plugin’s settings. These changes can include injecting malicious scripts, potentially leading to further compromise such as cross-site scripting (XSS) or persistent code execution within the WordPress environment. The vulnerability requires no prior authentication but does require user interaction from an administrator, making social engineering a key component of exploitation. The CVSS v3.1 score is 6.1 (medium), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction needed, and impacts on confidentiality and integrity with no effect on availability. Currently, no public patches or known exploits are reported, but the risk remains significant for sites using this plugin without mitigation.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-6405 is the unauthorized modification of plugin settings and potential injection of malicious scripts into WordPress sites using the Floating Social Buttons plugin. This can lead to confidentiality breaches if sensitive data is exposed or integrity violations if site content or behavior is altered maliciously. Attackers could leverage this to conduct further attacks such as persistent cross-site scripting, redirect users to malicious sites, or manipulate site content for phishing or malware distribution. Although availability is not directly affected, the reputational damage and potential data compromise can be severe for organizations. Since the attack requires an administrator to be tricked into clicking a link, organizations with multiple administrators or less security-aware staff are at higher risk. The vulnerability affects any WordPress site using this plugin, which may include small businesses, blogs, and larger organizations relying on social media integration. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as exploit code could be developed and shared rapidly.

Organizations should immediately verify if they use the Floating Social Buttons plugin version 1.5 or earlier and plan to update to a patched version once available. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should implement manual nonce validation in the floating_social_buttons_option() function to ensure requests are legitimate. Additionally, restrict administrative access to trusted users only and educate administrators about the risks of clicking unsolicited or suspicious links. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attempts targeting the plugin’s endpoints. Regularly audit plugin settings and monitor for unexpected changes or injected scripts. Consider temporarily disabling the plugin if it is not critical to site functionality until a secure version is released. Finally, maintain up-to-date backups to enable recovery in case of compromise.