CVE-2024-9706 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) found in the Ultimate Coming Soon & Maintenance plugin for WordPress, developed by rstheme2017. The issue arises from the absence of a capability check in the function ucsm_activate_lite_template_lite, which is responsible for activating the template displayed during the coming soon or maintenance mode of a website. This missing authorization allows unauthenticated attackers to remotely invoke this function and change the template without any privileges or user interaction. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.0.9 of the plugin. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based, requires no privileges or user interaction, and impacts integrity only, with no effect on confidentiality or availability. Although no public exploits have been reported, the vulnerability could be leveraged to alter the appearance of a website’s maintenance page, potentially misleading visitors or facilitating phishing or social engineering attacks. The plugin is commonly used on WordPress sites to manage maintenance mode displays, making this a relevant risk for website administrators who rely on it to control visitor experience during downtime or updates. No official patches or fixes have been published at the time of disclosure, so mitigation relies on monitoring for updates and applying best practices to limit exposure.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-9706 is unauthorized modification of website content during maintenance or coming soon mode, which affects the integrity of the displayed information. Attackers can alter the template to display misleading messages, malicious links, or phishing content, potentially damaging the website’s reputation and deceiving visitors. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity breach can facilitate further attacks such as social engineering or malware distribution. Organizations relying on this plugin for their WordPress sites may face reputational harm and loss of user trust. Since exploitation requires no authentication and can be performed remotely, the attack surface is broad, especially for publicly accessible websites. The lack of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk, but the vulnerability remains exploitable. This can be particularly impactful for businesses that use the plugin to communicate critical maintenance information or brand messaging, as unauthorized changes could confuse or mislead customers and partners.

Organizations should immediately audit their WordPress installations to identify if the Ultimate Coming Soon & Maintenance plugin by rstheme2017 is in use, particularly versions up to 1.0.9. Until an official patch is released, administrators should consider disabling the plugin or restricting access to the affected functionality via web application firewalls (WAF) or server-level access controls to block unauthorized requests targeting the ucsm_activate_lite_template_lite function. Monitoring web server logs for suspicious requests invoking this function can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing strict Content Security Policies (CSP) and ensuring that maintenance pages do not contain sensitive or trust-critical information can reduce the impact of unauthorized template changes. Regularly updating WordPress and plugins, subscribing to vendor security advisories, and preparing to apply patches promptly once available are essential. For high-risk environments, consider isolating maintenance mode pages or using alternative plugins with verified authorization checks.