CVE-2024-9182 is a medium-severity Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the Maspik WordPress plugin versions prior to 2.1.3. The vulnerability arises because the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape certain settings inputs. This flaw allows users with high privileges, such as administrators, to inject malicious scripts into the plugin's settings interface. Notably, this vulnerability can be exploited even when the WordPress configuration disallows unfiltered_html capabilities, which normally restricts the ability to input raw HTML or scripts. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79, indicating it is a classic reflected or stored XSS issue. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 4.8, reflecting a medium severity level, with an attack vector of network (remote exploitation possible), low attack complexity, requiring high privileges, and user interaction. The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact includes limited confidentiality and integrity loss but no availability impact. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches or updates have been linked yet. The vulnerability was reserved in September 2024 and published in May 2025. Since Maspik is a WordPress plugin, the threat targets websites using this plugin, potentially allowing malicious administrators to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the site, leading to session hijacking, defacement, or further attacks on users or site visitors.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability depends on the adoption of the Maspik plugin within their WordPress environments. Organizations using affected versions of Maspik risk having their administrative interfaces compromised by malicious scripts injected by high-privilege users. This could lead to unauthorized actions performed under the guise of legitimate administrators, including theft of sensitive information, manipulation of site content, or pivoting to other internal systems. Given that the vulnerability requires high privileges and user interaction, the risk is somewhat contained but still significant in environments where multiple administrators or editors have access. In sectors such as government, finance, or healthcare, where WordPress is used for public-facing or internal portals, exploitation could undermine trust, cause reputational damage, and potentially lead to data breaches. The lack of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk, but the absence of patches means organizations must proactively address the issue to prevent future exploitation. Additionally, the vulnerability's ability to bypass unfiltered_html restrictions suggests that standard WordPress security configurations may not fully mitigate the risk.

European organizations should first identify all WordPress instances running the Maspik plugin and determine the version in use. Immediate mitigation steps include upgrading the Maspik plugin to version 2.1.3 or later once available, as this version presumably contains the fix. Until an official patch is released, organizations should restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only and audit all high-privilege users for suspicious activity. Implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious script injections in plugin settings can provide temporary protection. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict role-based access controls (RBAC) to minimize the number of users with administrative privileges. Regular security audits and monitoring of WordPress logs for unusual behavior related to plugin settings changes are recommended. Finally, educating administrators about the risks of injecting untrusted content and ensuring that all input fields are treated cautiously will help reduce exploitation chances.