CVE-2024-54248: eewee admin custom CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2024-54248 Overview

CVE-2024-54248 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the eewee-admincustom WordPress plugin developed by eewee. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.8.2.4 and enables privilege escalation when an authenticated administrator visits an attacker-controlled page. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to elevate account privileges within the affected WordPress site, leading to a full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Critical Impact
An attacker can trick an authenticated user into submitting a forged request that escalates privileges on the WordPress site, granting administrative control.

Affected Products

eewee eewee-admincustom WordPress plugin
All versions from initial release through 1.8.2.4
WordPress installations with the plugin enabled

Discovery Timeline

2024-12-13 - CVE-2024-54248 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-54248

Vulnerability Analysis

The eewee-admincustom plugin exposes state-changing administrative actions without proper anti-CSRF protections. State-changing endpoints in the plugin process requests from authenticated users without validating that the request originated from a trusted source within the WordPress admin interface. An attacker hosts a malicious page that triggers a forged request to the vulnerable endpoint when visited by a logged-in administrator. The request executes with the victim's session privileges, allowing the attacker to modify user roles or account configurations to escalate privileges.

The vulnerability requires user interaction, typically achieved through phishing or by embedding the malicious payload in a page the target visits. No authentication credentials are required from the attacker because the victim's existing browser session provides authorization. The chain from CSRF to privilege escalation makes this issue more impactful than a standalone CSRF, since the attacker gains persistent elevated access rather than a single-action effect.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient validation of WordPress nonces (wp_nonce) on privileged actions within the plugin. WordPress provides the check_admin_referer() and wp_verify_nonce() functions to defend against CSRF, but the plugin's privileged handlers do not enforce these checks before performing role or capability changes.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker delivers a crafted link or embeds a hidden form or image tag pointing to the vulnerable plugin endpoint on a malicious page. When an authenticated administrator visits the page, the browser automatically attaches the WordPress session cookies, causing the forged request to be processed with administrative privileges. The plugin then performs the privilege-escalation action without verifying request authenticity.

No verified proof-of-concept code is published for this issue. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional advisory details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-54248

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected creation of administrator accounts or unexpected promotion of existing accounts to higher-privilege roles in wp_usermeta.
WordPress access logs showing POST requests to eewee-admincustom plugin endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external or unrelated domains.
Outbound HTTP requests from administrator browsers to unknown domains immediately preceding privilege changes in WordPress audit logs.

Detection Strategies

Audit the wp_users and wp_usermeta tables for new accounts or role changes that do not correlate with legitimate administrative activity.
Inspect web server logs for requests to plugin endpoints lacking valid _wpnonce parameters or originating from unexpected referrers.
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule that flags POST requests to the plugin paths missing a same-origin Referer header.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable a WordPress audit-logging plugin to record role changes, user creation, and capability modifications in real time.
Forward WordPress and web server logs to a centralized SIEM and alert on privilege-modification events outside change windows.
Monitor administrator session activity for cross-site navigation patterns that precede sensitive state changes.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-54248

Immediate Actions Required

Disable or remove the eewee-admincustom plugin until a patched version is confirmed by the vendor.
Review all WordPress user accounts and revoke privileges granted outside authorized change processes.
Force a password reset and session invalidation for all administrator accounts on affected sites.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the advisory indicates the vulnerability affects versions through 1.8.2.4 with no fixed version listed. Monitor the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the WordPress plugin repository for an updated release that introduces nonce verification on all privileged endpoints.

Workarounds

Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface (/wp-admin/) by source IP using web server access controls.
Require administrators to use a separate browser profile for WordPress administration to limit exposure to cross-site requests.
Deploy a WAF ruleset that enforces same-origin Referer validation for POST requests targeting the affected plugin paths.

bash

# Example nginx configuration enforcing Referer validation for plugin endpoints
location ~* /wp-content/plugins/eewee-admincustom/ {
    if ($http_referer !~* "^https?://your-site\.example\.com/") {
        return 403;
    }
}