CVE-2024-53718 Overview
CVE-2024-53718 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] in the Eric Teubert Multi Feed Reader plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 2.2.4. An attacker can chain the CSRF weakness with insufficient output sanitization to achieve Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) against a logged-in administrator.
Successful exploitation requires user interaction, such as visiting a crafted page while authenticated to the WordPress admin interface. The injected script persists in plugin-managed content and executes in the browser context of any user who later renders that content.
Critical Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can persist arbitrary JavaScript in the WordPress site by tricking an authenticated administrator into following a malicious link, leading to account takeover or further site compromise.
Affected Products
- Eric Teubert Multi Feed Reader plugin for WordPress
- All versions from n/a through <= 2.2.4
- WordPress installations with the plugin enabled
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-12-02 - CVE-2024-53718 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-53718
Vulnerability Analysis
The Multi Feed Reader plugin exposes administrative actions that change plugin state, such as feed configuration, without validating an anti-CSRF token. WordPress provides the wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() APIs for this purpose, but the affected handlers do not enforce them.
Because the same input fields are rendered back into administrative pages without proper escaping, an attacker can submit a request that stores attacker-controlled HTML or JavaScript. The persisted payload then executes whenever an administrator or other authorized user loads the affected plugin view.
The attack chain combines two weaknesses. The missing CSRF protection allows a third-party site to initiate the state-changing request on behalf of the victim. The missing output encoding turns that request into a Stored XSS primitive.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of nonce verification on plugin form processors paired with unsanitized handling of user-supplied content before storage and rendering. Both controls are required by the WordPress Plugin Handbook and their omission produces the chained CSRF-to-Stored-XSS condition tracked under [CWE-352].
Attack Vector
The attack is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker hosts a page containing an auto-submitting form or fetch call that targets the vulnerable plugin endpoint on the victim's WordPress site. When an authenticated administrator visits that page, the browser submits the request using the administrator's session cookies.
The payload is stored in the plugin's data, typically a feed title, URL, or description field. When the administrator or another privileged user later loads the plugin's admin screens or front-end output, the malicious script executes in their browser. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for additional advisory context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-53718
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected <script> tags, event handlers, or encoded JavaScript stored in Multi Feed Reader feed records within the WordPress database.
- Administrator browser sessions exhibiting outbound requests to unfamiliar domains after visiting plugin admin pages.
- New or modified WordPress administrator accounts that align with plugin admin activity timestamps.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect plugin tables and wp_options entries created by multi-feed-reader for HTML or JavaScript content that should not appear in feed metadata.
- Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin admin endpoints with HTTP Referer headers pointing to external domains.
- Monitor WordPress audit logs for plugin configuration changes that lack a corresponding authenticated admin session origin.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable a WordPress activity logging plugin to record plugin setting changes and correlate them against administrator login events.
- Forward web server and WordPress logs to a centralized analytics platform and alert on anomalous referers targeting /wp-admin/admin.php?page=multi-feed-reader*.
- Apply Content Security Policy (CSP) headers that restrict inline script execution to detect and block XSS payloads at runtime.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-53718
Immediate Actions Required
- Disable or remove the Multi Feed Reader plugin until a fixed version is confirmed available from the vendor.
- Audit existing feed entries and plugin options for injected scripts and remove any malicious content found.
- Force a password reset for all WordPress administrator accounts and invalidate active sessions.
Patch Information
No fixed version was identified in the available advisory data at the time of publication. The vulnerability affects Multi Feed Reader versions up to and including 2.2.4. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the WordPress plugin repository for an updated release.
Workarounds
- Deactivate the plugin in the WordPress admin console under Plugins > Installed Plugins until a patched version is available.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that requires a valid WordPress nonce on POST requests to Multi Feed Reader admin endpoints.
- Restrict access to /wp-admin/ by IP allowlist to reduce the exposure of authenticated administrators to cross-site request forgery.
# Configuration example: disable the plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate multi-feed-reader
wp plugin delete multi-feed-reader
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
