CVE-2024-54407: CK and SyntaxHighlighter CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2024-54407 Overview

CVE-2024-54407 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the CK and SyntaxHighlighter WordPress plugin developed by a328496647. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 3.4.2. An attacker who tricks an authenticated administrator into clicking a crafted link can store malicious JavaScript through the plugin's settings. The stored payload then executes in the browser of any user who views affected pages. The weakness is classified under CWE-352 and chains CSRF with Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation enables persistent JavaScript injection into WordPress sites, leading to session theft, administrative account takeover, and arbitrary content modification.

Affected Products

CK and SyntaxHighlighter WordPress plugin (ck-and-syntaxhighlighter)
Versions from n/a through <= 3.4.2
WordPress sites running the vulnerable plugin with authenticated administrators

Discovery Timeline

2024-12-16 - CVE-2024-54407 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-54407

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability combines two weaknesses into a single exploitable chain. The plugin's state-changing endpoints lack anti-CSRF protection, and the same endpoints accept input that is later rendered without sufficient output encoding. An attacker hosts a malicious page containing a forged request targeting the plugin's configuration handler. When an authenticated WordPress administrator visits the attacker's page, the browser submits the request using the administrator's active session cookies. The plugin processes the request as legitimate and writes the attacker-controlled payload into persistent storage. The injected script then executes whenever a victim loads a page that renders the affected setting.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of CSRF token validation on settings-modification endpoints in the ck-and-syntaxhighlighter plugin. WordPress provides the wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() primitives for this purpose, but the vulnerable handlers do not validate a nonce before persisting user-supplied data. Combined with missing sanitization through functions such as wp_kses() or esc_attr(), the input flows directly into stored output, producing the XSS condition.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access and user interaction. The attacker delivers a crafted URL or auto-submitting HTML form to a target administrator through phishing, malicious advertising, or a comment containing an external link. No prior authentication is required for the attacker. The forged request leverages the victim's existing session, so the impact scope extends from the user account to other site visitors who later view the compromised pages. See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Analysis for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-54407

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script> tags or event handler attributes stored in plugin configuration tables within the WordPress database
Outbound browser requests from administrator sessions to unfamiliar domains immediately after visiting external links
New or modified WordPress administrator accounts created shortly after a known administrator browsing session
HTTP POST requests to the ck-and-syntaxhighlighter plugin admin endpoints with a Referer header pointing to an external domain

Detection Strategies

Inspect the WordPress wp_options table and plugin-specific options for entries containing HTML or JavaScript syntax such as <script, onerror=, or javascript:
Review web server access logs for POST requests targeting wp-admin plugin handlers where the Referer header is not the site's own domain
Audit installed plugin versions across managed WordPress instances and flag any running ck-and-syntaxhighlighter<= 3.4.2

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging plugins to record settings changes with timestamps and originating user accounts
Forward web server and WordPress audit logs to a centralized analytics platform for retrospective hunting on CSRF and XSS indicators
Configure browser-side Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting endpoints to surface unexpected inline script execution

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-54407

Immediate Actions Required

Disable or remove the ck-and-syntaxhighlighter plugin on any WordPress instance running version 3.4.2 or earlier until a patched release is verified
Force a password reset for all WordPress administrator accounts and invalidate active sessions
Inspect plugin settings and database entries for injected scripts and remove any unauthorized content

Patch Information

No fixed version is identified in the available advisory data. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the plugin's WordPress.org listing for an update beyond version 3.4.2. Apply the patched release once published and confirm the version on every affected site.

Workarounds

Restrict access to the WordPress wp-admin directory by IP allowlist at the web server or WAF layer to reduce CSRF exposure
Deploy a Content Security Policy that blocks inline scripts and unauthorized external sources to limit Stored XSS impact
Train administrators to log out of WordPress sessions before browsing untrusted sites and to use a dedicated browser profile for administrative work
Enable a WordPress security plugin that enforces nonce validation and sanitizes output for known vulnerable plugins

bash

# Example WAF rule concept to block external referers on plugin admin POSTs
# (adapt syntax to your WAF or web server)
if ($request_method = POST) {
    if ($request_uri ~* "/wp-admin/.*ck-and-syntaxhighlighter") {
        if ($http_referer !~* "^https?://yourdomain\.com/") {
            return 403;
        }
    }
}