CVE-2024-53713 Overview
CVE-2024-53713 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the rickota Silverlight Video Player (smooth-streaming-player) WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions through 1.0 and enables an attacker to chain CSRF with Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). An attacker can craft a malicious request that, when triggered by an authenticated administrator, persists attacker-controlled JavaScript in the plugin's stored configuration. The injected script then executes in the browser of any user who renders the affected page.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation results in persistent script execution in administrator and visitor browsers, enabling session theft, account takeover, and arbitrary actions in the WordPress admin context.
Affected Products
- rickota Silverlight Video Player WordPress plugin (smooth-streaming-player)
- All versions from n/a through 1.0
- WordPress sites with the plugin installed and activated
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-12-02 - CVE-2024-53713 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-53713
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability stems from missing or improperly validated anti-CSRF tokens in the plugin's settings handlers. An attacker hosts a crafted page that issues a state-changing request to a vulnerable WordPress endpoint exposed by smooth-streaming-player. When an authenticated administrator visits the attacker's page, the browser submits the forged request with valid session cookies. The plugin processes the request and stores attacker-supplied content without sufficient sanitization or output encoding.
The stored payload is rendered later in pages served by the plugin, executing JavaScript in the victim's browser. Because the payload persists in the database, every visitor to the affected page is exposed until the entry is cleaned. The flaw is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery.
Root Cause
The plugin does not verify a WordPress nonce (wp_verify_nonce) or equivalent anti-CSRF token on settings update operations. It also fails to escape user input on output, allowing HTML and script content to be stored and rendered verbatim. The combination converts a CSRF primitive into a Stored XSS sink.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires network access and user interaction from a privileged WordPress user. The attacker delivers a malicious link or embedded resource through phishing, a comment, or a third-party site. When the administrator's authenticated browser session loads the attacker page, the forged POST request modifies plugin settings and embeds the XSS payload. No credentials, prior authentication, or local access to the server are required from the attacker.
No verified public exploit code is available. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for vendor-tracked technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-53713
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script>, onerror=, or event handler strings inside smooth-streaming-player plugin options stored in the WordPress wp_options table.
- HTTP POST requests to plugin administrative endpoints from external Referer headers not matching the site's own domain.
- New or modified WordPress admin users, or unexplained outbound requests originating from administrator browser sessions.
Detection Strategies
- Audit the wp_options table for plugin-related rows and search stored values for HTML tags, JavaScript keywords, and encoded payloads.
- Review WordPress access logs for state-changing requests to smooth-streaming-player endpoints lacking a valid _wpnonce parameter.
- Inspect rendered pages produced by the plugin for unexpected inline scripts or DOM modifications using a headless browser scan.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag cross-origin POST requests to WordPress admin endpoints.
- Alert on administrator account activity originating from unfamiliar IP addresses or user agents.
- Monitor file integrity and database changes on WordPress instances running vulnerable plugin versions.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-53713
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate and remove the smooth-streaming-player plugin until a patched release is confirmed by the maintainer.
- Audit plugin-related database rows and remove any unauthorized script content discovered.
- Force a password reset and session invalidation for all WordPress administrator accounts.
Patch Information
At the time of publication, no fixed version of the Silverlight Video Player plugin is identified in the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report. Affected versions span from n/a through 1.0. Site owners should remove the plugin and monitor the vendor channel for an official update.
Workarounds
- Replace the plugin with a maintained alternative that uses standard HTML5 streaming and includes CSRF protections.
- Restrict WordPress admin access by IP allowlist and require multi-factor authentication for privileged accounts.
- Deploy a WAF rule set that enforces Referer and Origin validation on WordPress administrative POST requests.
# Configuration example - remove the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate smooth-streaming-player
wp plugin delete smooth-streaming-player
# Audit stored options for script content
wp db query "SELECT option_name, option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%smooth%' OR option_value LIKE '%<script%';"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
