CVE-2024-53777: Simple Header and Footer CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2024-53777 Overview

CVE-2024-53777 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Alberto Reineri Simple Header and Footer WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.0.0. An attacker can chain the CSRF weakness [CWE-352] to deliver a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) payload into the plugin's configuration.

Exploitation requires an authenticated administrator to visit an attacker-controlled page. Once triggered, the injected script persists on every page that renders the plugin's header or footer output, exposing site visitors and administrators to session theft, account takeover, and further site compromise.

Critical Impact

A successful attack stores attacker-controlled JavaScript in the WordPress site header or footer, executing in every visitor's browser and enabling administrator session hijack.

Affected Products

• Alberto Reineri Simple Header and Footer WordPress plugin
• All versions from n/a through <= 1.0.0
• WordPress sites with the simple-header-and-footer plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-12-02 - CVE-2024-53777 published to the National Vulnerability Database
• 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-53777

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from missing CSRF protection on the plugin's settings update handler. The handler accepts header and footer content but does not verify a WordPress nonce or validate the request origin. As a result, any state-changing request that reaches the endpoint with a valid administrator session cookie is processed.

The stored header and footer content is rendered on the front end without adequate output sanitization or contextual encoding. An attacker who supplies <script> markup through the CSRF flow gains a persistent Stored XSS primitive [CWE-79] reachable on every page load.

The attack chain requires user interaction from a privileged user, which is reflected in the CVSS user interaction component. Because the injected script executes in the context of the WordPress origin, the impact crosses a security scope boundary to affect site visitors.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of a WordPress nonce check (wp_verify_nonce or check_admin_referer) on the settings save action. Coupled with insufficient HTML sanitization on the header and footer fields, the plugin trusts any authenticated request that updates these options.

Attack Vector

An attacker hosts a malicious page containing a forged form or auto-submitting JavaScript that targets the plugin's settings endpoint on the victim's site. The attacker lures a logged-in WordPress administrator to the page. The browser sends the cross-site request with the administrator's session cookies attached, and the plugin saves the attacker-supplied <script> payload into the header or footer option. Every subsequent page render delivers the script to visitors.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available. Refer to the Patchstack Security Vulnerability Analysis for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-53777

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected <script>, <iframe>, or event-handler markup stored in the simple-header-and-footer plugin options within the wp_options table.
• Outbound requests from site visitors to unfamiliar third-party domains originating from header or footer page regions.
• Administrator account activity recorded shortly after the administrator visited an external link, followed by plugin settings changes.

Detection Strategies

• Audit the wp_options table for entries created by simple-header-and-footer and inspect them for HTML or JavaScript content not added by an authorized administrator.
• Review web server access logs for POST requests to wp-admin plugin settings endpoints lacking a valid Referer header from the same origin.
• Compare current header and footer content with a known-good backup to identify unauthorized modifications.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable WordPress audit logging to capture option changes, plugin updates, and administrator session events.
• Monitor browser console errors and Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for unexpected inline script execution.
• Alert on file integrity changes to plugin configuration values and on new outbound domains contacted from rendered pages.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-53777

Immediate Actions Required

• Deactivate and remove the Simple Header and Footer plugin if no fixed version is available for your deployment.
• Inspect and sanitize stored header and footer values, removing any <script>, <iframe>, or event-handler attributes that were not authorized.
• Force administrator password resets and invalidate active WordPress sessions if Stored XSS execution is suspected.

Patch Information

No fixed version has been published in the available advisory. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.0.0. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the WordPress plugin repository for an updated release before reinstalling the plugin.

Workarounds

• Replace the plugin with an actively maintained alternative that enforces nonce validation and output sanitization on header and footer fields.
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that blocks cross-origin POST requests to WordPress administrative endpoints when the Referer or Origin header is missing or mismatched.
• Enforce a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts to limit the impact of any residual Stored XSS payloads.
• Require administrators to use separate browser profiles or sessions for WordPress administration to reduce CSRF exposure from unrelated browsing.

# Example Content Security Policy header to mitigate inline script execution
Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; frame-ancestors 'self'"