CVE-2024-39628 Overview
CVE-2024-39628 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Saturday Drive Ninja Forms plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions of Ninja Forms from n/a through 3.8.6. An attacker can trick an authenticated administrator into executing unwanted actions on a vulnerable site by visiting a crafted page. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation requires user interaction but can lead to high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress site.
Affected Products
- Saturday Drive Ninja Forms plugin for WordPress
- Ninja Forms versions through 3.8.6
- WordPress sites running vulnerable Ninja Forms installations
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-08-26 - CVE-2024-39628 published to NVD
- 2024-10-20 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-39628
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability stems from missing or insufficient CSRF protection in the Ninja Forms plugin. The plugin fails to validate request origin or properly verify nonce tokens on state-changing operations. An attacker hosting a malicious page can craft requests that the victim's browser automatically sends to the WordPress site using the victim's authenticated session cookies.
Because Ninja Forms is widely deployed across WordPress sites for form management, the affected functions likely include form configuration, submission handling, or settings modification. Successful exploitation depends on luring an authenticated user — typically an administrator — to a controlled web page or link.
The Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) value indicates a low near-term exploitation likelihood, but the impact upon successful exploitation is high given administrative reach.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of proper anti-CSRF protections such as WordPress nonces (wp_verify_nonce) or origin/referer checks on sensitive endpoints. Without these tokens, the application cannot distinguish a legitimate authenticated request from a forged one initiated by a third-party site.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker crafts a malicious HTML page containing auto-submitting forms or image tags targeting vulnerable Ninja Forms endpoints. When an authenticated WordPress administrator visits the page, the browser sends the forged request with valid session cookies, causing the WordPress backend to process it as legitimate.
No verified public exploit code is available. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-39628
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to Ninja Forms configuration, form definitions, or plugin settings without administrator action.
- WordPress access logs showing POST requests to Ninja Forms endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains.
- New or modified administrator accounts or privileged users coinciding with browsing activity from existing admins.
Detection Strategies
- Audit WordPress logs for state-changing requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and Ninja Forms routes that lack a valid nonce parameter.
- Correlate browser history of administrative users with suspicious site configuration changes.
- Run plugin vulnerability scanners such as WPScan against the WordPress instance to identify outdated Ninja Forms versions <= 3.8.6.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor administrator session activity and flag cross-origin POST submissions to WordPress admin endpoints.
- Enable web application firewall (WAF) rules that inspect referer and origin headers for sensitive WordPress paths.
- Alert on unexpected modifications to plugin files, form definitions, and option records in the WordPress database.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-39628
Immediate Actions Required
- Update Ninja Forms to a version released after 3.8.6 that addresses CVE-2024-39628.
- Force re-authentication of all administrator accounts and review recent privileged actions.
- Restrict WordPress administrative access to trusted networks or via VPN where feasible.
Patch Information
Upgrade the Ninja Forms plugin to the latest available version published by Saturday Drive. Refer to the Patchstack advisory for the fixed version and remediation guidance from the vendor.
Workarounds
- Deploy a WordPress-aware WAF with CSRF protections that validate Origin and Referer headers on admin requests.
- Require administrators to use a dedicated browser profile when managing WordPress to limit cross-site exposure.
- Disable or remove the Ninja Forms plugin until patched if it is not actively required.
# Configuration example: update Ninja Forms via WP-CLI
wp plugin update ninja-forms --version=latest
wp plugin list --name=ninja-forms --fields=name,status,version
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
