CVE-2026-24384 identifies a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the launchinteractive Merge + Minify + Refresh plugin, a tool commonly used to optimize website performance by merging and minifying CSS and JavaScript files. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 2.14. CSRF flaws occur when a web application does not adequately verify that requests altering state originate from legitimate users, allowing attackers to craft malicious web pages that trigger unauthorized actions when visited by authenticated users. In this case, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by luring an authenticated administrator or user with sufficient privileges to visit a malicious site, which then sends forged requests to the plugin’s interface. This could result in unauthorized changes to the plugin’s configuration or behavior, potentially degrading website performance or causing operational issues. Although no exploits have been reported in the wild, the vulnerability remains a significant risk due to the plugin’s role in website optimization and the potential for misuse in targeted attacks. The lack of a CVSS score indicates that the vulnerability is newly published and not yet fully assessed, but the nature of CSRF vulnerabilities typically implies a moderate to high risk depending on the context of use. The vulnerability does not require complex exploitation techniques but does require the victim to be authenticated and to visit a malicious site, which is a common attack vector in web environments.

For European organizations, the impact of this CSRF vulnerability can be substantial, especially for those relying on the Merge + Minify + Refresh plugin within WordPress or similar CMS environments. Unauthorized configuration changes could lead to degraded website performance, broken functionality, or exposure of sensitive information if the plugin’s behavior is manipulated. This can affect the integrity and availability of web services, potentially disrupting business operations and damaging reputation. Organizations in sectors such as e-commerce, media, and government that depend heavily on web presence are particularly at risk. Additionally, if attackers leverage this vulnerability as part of a broader attack chain, it could facilitate further compromise or lateral movement within the network. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often weaponize such vulnerabilities rapidly after disclosure.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should first monitor for official patches or updates from launchinteractive and apply them promptly once available. In the interim, administrators should implement strict access controls to limit plugin configuration capabilities to trusted users only. Employing web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block CSRF attempts can provide an additional layer of defense. Developers and administrators should ensure that anti-CSRF tokens are implemented and validated for all state-changing requests within the plugin interface. Educating users about the risks of visiting untrusted websites while authenticated can reduce the likelihood of successful exploitation. Regular security audits and penetration testing focused on web application vulnerabilities can help identify and remediate similar issues proactively. Finally, consider isolating administrative interfaces or restricting them to internal networks or VPN access to reduce exposure.