CVE-2024-47369: Social Auto Poster XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2024-47369 Overview

CVE-2024-47369 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the wpweb Social Auto Poster plugin for WordPress. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation [CWE-79]. Attackers can craft malicious URLs that execute arbitrary JavaScript in a victim's browser when clicked. All versions of Social Auto Poster from initial release through 5.3.15 are affected. The vulnerability enables session hijacking, credential theft, and unauthorized actions performed under the victim's WordPress session context.

Critical Impact
A network-accessible attacker can execute arbitrary script in the victim's browser through a crafted link, leading to account compromise and data exposure within the WordPress admin scope.

Affected Products

wpweb Social Auto Poster WordPress plugin, versions up to and including 5.3.15
WordPress sites with the social-auto-poster plugin installed and active
All WordPress environments running vulnerable versions of the plugin

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-05 - CVE-2024-47369 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-47369

Vulnerability Analysis

The Social Auto Poster plugin fails to properly sanitize and encode user-controlled input before reflecting it in HTTP responses. When a victim visits a specially crafted URL, injected JavaScript executes within the browser under the origin of the vulnerable WordPress site. Because the affected scope includes changed security context, attacker-supplied script can access resources beyond the vulnerable component's original boundary. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, typically achieved through phishing or malicious link distribution.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing input sanitization and output encoding in a request handler that reflects request parameters back into rendered HTML. The plugin does not apply WordPress core functions such as esc_html(), esc_attr(), or wp_kses() to untrusted parameters. As a result, HTML and script content passed via request parameters is rendered verbatim into the page, satisfying the pattern described in [CWE-79].

Attack Vector

Exploitation is remote and requires no authentication. An attacker delivers a crafted URL to a target WordPress user, often an administrator or editor. When the user clicks the link, the injected payload runs in the browser session. The attacker can then exfiltrate session cookies, insert unauthorized posts through the WordPress REST API, modify plugin settings, or pivot to further account takeover. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-47369

Indicators of Compromise

Web server access logs containing requests to social-auto-poster endpoints with URL parameters containing <script>, javascript:, onerror=, or onload= payloads.
Unexpected outbound requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains shortly after clicking inbound links.
Unauthorized WordPress posts, modified plugin settings, or new administrator accounts created without matching audit trail entries.

Detection Strategies

Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to inspect query strings and form parameters targeting the social-auto-poster plugin path for XSS signatures.
Enable WordPress audit logging to correlate suspicious administrative actions with the sessions of users who accessed reflective plugin URLs.
Review referrer headers and URL parameters in HTTP logs for encoded script payloads such as %3Cscript%3E reaching plugin endpoints.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on HTTP requests to /wp-content/plugins/social-auto-poster/ containing HTML control characters in query parameters.
Track Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for unexpected inline script execution on WordPress admin pages.
Monitor administrator email inboxes and messaging platforms for phishing lures containing links to the vulnerable site.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-47369

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Social Auto Poster plugin to a version later than 5.3.15 as soon as the vendor releases a patched build.
Deactivate and remove the plugin if a fixed version is unavailable and the functionality is not business-critical.
Force password resets and session invalidation for any WordPress administrator who may have clicked suspicious links.

Patch Information

At time of publication, the vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 5.3.15. Administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the WordPress plugin repository for the latest patched release. Apply updates in a staging environment before rolling to production.

Workarounds

Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface using IP allowlisting or VPN-only access to reduce the exposure surface for phishing-delivered XSS.
Deploy a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and untrusted origins on WordPress admin pages.
Configure WAF rules to block requests containing script tags or JavaScript event handlers in parameters routed to the vulnerable plugin.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block reflected XSS patterns to the plugin path
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-content/plugins/social-auto-poster/" \
    "chain,id:1004737,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Potential XSS targeting Social Auto Poster (CVE-2024-47369)'"
    SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i)(<script|javascript:|onerror=|onload=)" "t:urlDecodeUni,t:htmlEntityDecode"