CVE-2024-49250: Table Of Contents Plus CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49250 Overview

CVE-2024-49250 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Syed Balkhi Table of Contents Plus plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 2408. An attacker can craft a malicious request that triggers privileged actions when an authenticated administrator visits an attacker-controlled page. The issue is tracked under CWE-352 and is documented in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Critical Impact
A successful CSRF attack can lead to high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected WordPress sites running the Table of Contents Plus plugin.

Affected Products

Syed Balkhi Table of Contents Plus (table-of-contents-plus) WordPress plugin
All versions from n/a through 2408
WordPress sites with the plugin installed and an authenticated administrator session

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-20 - CVE-2024-49250 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-49250

Vulnerability Analysis

The Table of Contents Plus plugin exposes one or more state-changing endpoints that do not properly validate an anti-CSRF token. A remote attacker can construct an HTML form or JavaScript payload that submits a forged request to the vulnerable endpoint. When a logged-in WordPress administrator visits the attacker's page, the browser automatically attaches the session cookie. The plugin processes the request as if it originated from the authenticated user.

Because the vulnerable action runs in the administrator's context, the attacker can modify plugin configuration or trigger other privileged operations. The CVSS vector indicates user interaction is required, consistent with the victim being lured to a malicious page. The vulnerability covers all releases through version 2408.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient CSRF protection on plugin endpoints. WordPress provides nonce primitives such as wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() to defend against CSRF. The affected versions of Table of Contents Plus do not enforce nonce validation on the impacted handlers. This omission allows cross-origin requests to invoke privileged plugin functionality.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network and requires no prior authentication from the attacker. The attacker hosts a malicious page containing a forged request targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoint. A WordPress administrator with an active session must visit the page or click a crafted link. Once triggered, the browser submits the request along with the administrator's session cookies, and the plugin executes the action without verifying request origin.

The vulnerability is described in prose here as no verified proof-of-concept code has been published. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-49250

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected modifications to Table of Contents Plus configuration or settings within wp-admin
HTTP POST requests to plugin admin endpoints with a Referer header pointing to an external domain
Administrator activity logs showing setting changes that do not correlate with legitimate admin actions
WordPress audit log entries for the plugin without a corresponding nonce verification event

Detection Strategies

Monitor web server access logs for cross-origin requests targeting /wp-admin/ endpoints associated with the table-of-contents-plus plugin
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that flags state-changing requests missing the WordPress _wpnonce parameter
Use file integrity monitoring on plugin configuration entries stored in the wp_options table
Correlate administrator login sessions with subsequent plugin setting changes to identify unauthorized modifications

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress audit logging plugins to capture administrative actions with source IP and Referer data
Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized SIEM for correlation and retention
Alert on POST requests to plugin endpoints originating from external Referer domains
Review administrator account activity weekly for anomalous configuration changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-49250

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Table of Contents Plus plugin to a version newer than 2408 as soon as a fixed release is available from the vendor
Restrict wp-admin access to known IP ranges using web server or firewall rules
Require administrators to log out of WordPress sessions when not actively managing the site
Audit existing plugin settings for unauthorized modifications and revert to a known-good baseline

Patch Information

At the time of writing, no vendor advisory URL is recorded in the CVE data. Site administrators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the WordPress plugin repository for the latest fixed release. Apply the patched version across all WordPress instances running the plugin.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the Table of Contents Plus plugin until a patched version is installed
Deploy a WAF rule that blocks POST requests to plugin admin endpoints when the Referer header does not match the site domain
Enforce SameSite cookie attributes on WordPress session cookies to reduce cross-origin cookie transmission
Train administrators to avoid clicking untrusted links while logged into the WordPress dashboard

bash

# Example nginx rule to block cross-origin POSTs to wp-admin
location ~* ^/wp-admin/ {
    if ($request_method = POST) {
        if ($http_referer !~* "^https?://(www\.)?example\.com/") {
            return 403;
        }
    }
}