CVE-2024-53715 Overview
CVE-2024-53715 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] in the Thomas Hoefter Simple Travel Map plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 0.1. Attackers can chain the CSRF weakness with a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) payload injection. Successful exploitation requires an authenticated administrator to visit an attacker-controlled page. Once triggered, the payload persists in the WordPress database and executes in the browser of any user viewing the affected page.
Critical Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can trick a logged-in WordPress administrator into submitting a forged request that stores arbitrary JavaScript, leading to persistent XSS across site visitors.
Affected Products
- Thomas Hoefter Simple Travel Map WordPress plugin
- All versions from n/a through 0.1
- WordPress sites running the vulnerable simple-travel-map plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-12-02 - CVE-2024-53715 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-53715
Vulnerability Analysis
The Simple Travel Map plugin exposes state-changing administrative actions without validating anti-CSRF tokens. The plugin fails to verify a WordPress nonce (wp_verify_nonce) or a comparable origin check before accepting user-supplied input. An attacker crafts a malicious HTML page containing a form or fetch call targeting the plugin's endpoint. When an authenticated administrator visits the attacker page, the browser submits the forged request using the administrator's active session cookies.
The plugin then writes the attacker-controlled input to persistent storage without adequate sanitization or output encoding. When the stored data renders in the WordPress front end or admin interface, the injected JavaScript executes in the victim's browser context. This produces a stored XSS condition scoped to the WordPress origin.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of CSRF protection combined with insufficient input sanitization on plugin form handlers. WordPress provides the nonce API for exactly this scenario, but the affected plugin does not enforce nonce validation on privileged operations. The stored XSS is a secondary consequence enabled by missing output escaping through functions such as esc_html() or esc_attr().
Attack Vector
Exploitation is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker hosts a page containing a hidden form or JavaScript that automatically submits a request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. The attacker distributes the URL to a WordPress administrator through phishing, social engineering, or a compromised third-party site. Upon page load, the browser sends authenticated requests, and the malicious payload is persisted. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-53715
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script> tags or event handler attributes stored in Simple Travel Map plugin database entries
- WordPress admin POST requests originating from external Referer headers unrelated to the WordPress site
- New or modified plugin content records created outside routine administrative activity
- Outbound requests from site visitor browsers to unfamiliar external domains after loading pages that render travel map data
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress database tables associated with the simple-travel-map plugin for HTML or JavaScript content that should not be present
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to plugin endpoints paired with cross-origin Referer headers
- Deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting to surface unexpected inline script execution on WordPress pages
Monitoring Recommendations
- Alert on administrative session activity that follows immediately after clicks on external links
- Monitor for creation or modification of plugin records without a corresponding authenticated admin workflow
- Track file integrity across the wp-content/plugins/simple-travel-map/ directory for unauthorized changes
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-53715
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate and remove the Simple Travel Map plugin from any WordPress installation running version 0.1 or earlier until a patched release is available
- Audit existing plugin data for injected scripts and remove any stored XSS payloads
- Force password resets and session invalidation for WordPress administrators who may have visited untrusted sites
Patch Information
At the time of publication, no fixed version has been identified for the Simple Travel Map plugin. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 0.1. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation status.
Workarounds
- Remove the plugin entirely if a patched version is not available from the vendor
- Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that blocks inline scripts and untrusted origins to limit stored XSS impact
- Require administrators to use isolated browser sessions or dedicated browsers when managing WordPress to reduce CSRF exposure
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block cross-origin POST requests to WordPress admin endpoints
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
