CVE-2024-47648: EventPrime Open Redirect Vulnerability

CVE-2024-47648 Overview

CVE-2024-47648 is an open redirect vulnerability affecting the Metagauss EventPrime plugin for WordPress, a widely deployed event calendar management solution. The flaw exists in all plugin versions up to and including 4.0.4.5. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-601, URL Redirection to Untrusted Site. Attackers can craft malicious URLs that appear to originate from a trusted WordPress site but redirect victims to attacker-controlled destinations. This class of flaw commonly enables phishing campaigns, credential harvesting, and malware distribution against users who trust the source domain.

Critical Impact
Attackers can leverage the trusted WordPress domain to redirect authenticated or anonymous users to malicious sites, facilitating phishing and social engineering attacks against site visitors.

Affected Products

Metagauss EventPrime (eventprime-event-calendar-management) plugin for WordPress
All versions from initial release through 4.0.4.5
WordPress installations with the plugin active and network-reachable

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-10 - CVE-2024-47648 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-47648

Vulnerability Analysis

The EventPrime plugin fails to validate the destination of user-supplied redirect parameters. When a request contains a URL parameter processed by the plugin's redirection logic, the plugin issues an HTTP redirect to the provided location without confirming it points to an allowed host. The victim's browser follows the redirect transparently. Because the initial request targets a legitimate WordPress domain running EventPrime, standard defenses like email link inspection and user domain checks often fail to flag the attack.

Exploitation requires user interaction, typically a click on a crafted link delivered through email, chat, or a malicious advertisement. The scope changes because the trusted origin is used to launder traffic to an attacker-controlled destination, impacting confidentiality and integrity of the user's session and downstream systems.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing allowlist validation on the redirect target. The plugin accepts arbitrary absolute URLs and forwards the client without confirming the host matches the site's own domain or an approved list. This is a textbook CWE-601 pattern where trust is placed in client-supplied input.

Attack Vector

The attack is delivered over the network and requires no authentication. An attacker crafts a URL pointing to the vulnerable WordPress site with an embedded redirect parameter referencing an attacker-controlled domain. When the victim clicks the link, the WordPress server responds with an HTTP redirect to the malicious destination. Attackers commonly chain this with cloned login pages to harvest WordPress credentials or to distribute malware. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-47648

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP 301 or 302 responses from EventPrime endpoints containing Location headers pointing to external domains not associated with the site.
Web server access logs showing requests with query parameters containing fully qualified external URLs directed at plugin endpoints.
Referrer logs on external sites showing traffic originating from WordPress URLs bearing suspicious redirect parameters.

Detection Strategies

Inspect web application firewall (WAF) logs for requests to /wp-content/plugins/eventprime-event-calendar-management/ paths containing http:// or https:// in query string values.
Correlate outbound redirect responses with known phishing infrastructure using threat intelligence feeds.
Deploy content security policy (CSP) reporting to surface unexpected navigation events originating from WordPress pages.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on HTTP redirect responses whose Location header host does not match the WordPress site's canonical domain.
Monitor authentication logs for spikes in failed logins that follow phishing redirect activity, indicating credential replay attempts.
Track user-reported phishing incidents that reference the affected WordPress domain in the URL chain.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-47648

Immediate Actions Required

Update the EventPrime plugin to a version later than 4.0.4.5 as soon as a fixed release is available from Metagauss.
Audit WordPress installations to inventory all sites running the eventprime-event-calendar-management plugin.
Deploy WAF rules that block requests containing absolute external URLs in redirect parameters targeting plugin endpoints.

Patch Information

Metagauss addresses the flaw in releases after 4.0.4.5. Site administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the current fixed version and upgrade through the WordPress admin plugin manager or via WP-CLI.

Workarounds

Disable the EventPrime plugin until a patched version is installed if event calendar functionality is not business-critical.
Configure a reverse proxy or WAF rule to strip or reject external URLs supplied in redirect query parameters.
Educate users to verify the final destination domain before submitting credentials, especially when arriving via email links.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block external redirect targets in EventPrime requests
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains eventprime-event-calendar-management" \
    "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1004764801,\
    msg:'CVE-2024-47648 EventPrime open redirect attempt'"
    SecRule ARGS "@rx ^https?://(?!yoursite\.com)" "t:none,t:lowercase"