CVE-2024-37417: Coachify WordPress Plugin CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2024-37417 Overview

CVE-2024-37417 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Coachify WordPress theme developed by wpcoachify. The flaw impacts all versions up to and including 1.0.7. An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting a forged request that performs unintended actions on the vulnerable site. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352 and requires user interaction to exploit.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows attackers to perform limited unauthorized state-changing actions on behalf of an authenticated victim through a crafted link or webpage.

Affected Products

wpcoachify Coachify WordPress theme (versions n/a through 1.0.7)
WordPress installations using vulnerable Coachify theme releases
Sites relying on Coachify theme handlers without CSRF token verification

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-02 - CVE-2024-37417 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-37417

Vulnerability Analysis

The Coachify theme exposes one or more state-changing actions that do not verify the origin of incoming requests. When an authenticated user visits a page controlled by an attacker, the browser automatically attaches session cookies to any request sent to the WordPress site. Without proper anti-CSRF tokens or origin checks, the server processes the forged request as legitimate.

The vulnerability produces a limited integrity impact and requires user interaction. It does not directly expose confidential data or degrade availability, but it can modify theme-controlled settings or trigger unintended actions tied to the victim's session. See the Patchstack CSRF Vulnerability Advisory for vendor advisory details.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing CSRF protection on sensitive request handlers in the Coachify theme. WordPress provides wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() primitives for this purpose, but the affected handlers do not validate a nonce or the request origin before executing the action.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires the attacker to lure an authenticated Coachify site user to a malicious page. The page silently issues a crafted request to the target WordPress site using the victim's active session. Because the attack occurs over the network and requires only a click or page visit, the barrier to exploitation is low.

No public proof-of-concept exploit or exploit database entry is available. See the Patchstack advisory for further reference.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-37417

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected POST requests to Coachify theme endpoints originating from external Referer headers
Configuration or content changes in the WordPress admin interface that no administrator initiated
Repeated inbound requests targeting theme admin actions without a valid _wpnonce parameter

Detection Strategies

Inspect WordPress access logs for state-changing requests (POST, PUT, DELETE) to theme endpoints missing nonce parameters
Correlate authenticated user sessions with outbound clicks to untrusted domains that immediately precede administrative changes
Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that flags requests to Coachify theme handlers with mismatched or missing Origin and Referer headers

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to record all administrative and theme-level configuration changes
Monitor session activity for authenticated users interacting with the site immediately after visiting external referrers
Alert on any changes to Coachify theme options or settings outside change-management windows

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-37417

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running the Coachify theme at version 1.0.7 or earlier
Restrict administrative access to trusted networks or enforce multi-factor authentication for privileged users
Deploy WAF rules that enforce Origin and Referer validation for state-changing requests to theme endpoints

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no fixed version is listed in the NVD entry for Coachify. Administrators should consult the Patchstack advisory and the wpcoachify vendor for the latest remediation guidance. If no patch is available, consider replacing the theme with a maintained alternative.

Workarounds

Disable or replace the Coachify theme until a patched release is confirmed
Instruct administrators to log out of the WordPress admin interface when not actively working on the site
Use browser isolation or a dedicated administrative browser profile to reduce cross-site request exposure

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block requests missing a matching Origin header
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@rx ^(POST|PUT|DELETE)$" \
    "id:1004371,phase:1,deny,status:403,\
    chain,msg:'CVE-2024-37417 Coachify CSRF - missing Origin'"
    SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-admin/" \
        "chain"
        SecRule &REQUEST_HEADERS:Origin "@eq 0"