CVE-2024-54430 Overview
CVE-2024-54430 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting the Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV) Newsletter plugin for WordPress. The flaw impacts all versions of the eelv-newsletter plugin up to and including 4.8.2. An attacker can craft a malicious request that, when triggered by an authenticated user visiting an attacker-controlled page, performs unauthorized actions within the plugin. The attack requires user interaction but no privileges on the target site.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows attackers to trigger unauthorized state-changing actions in the EELV Newsletter plugin by tricking authenticated users into loading a malicious page.
Affected Products
- Europe Ecologie Les Verts EELV Newsletter plugin for WordPress
- All versions from n/a through 4.8.2
- WordPress sites running the eelv-newsletter plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-12-16 - CVE-2024-54430 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-54430
Vulnerability Analysis
The EELV Newsletter plugin fails to validate the origin of state-changing HTTP requests. The plugin does not enforce anti-CSRF tokens (WordPress nonces) on one or more sensitive endpoints. As a result, the server processes any well-formed request that carries a valid session cookie, regardless of where the request originated.
Attackers exploit this by hosting a page that automatically submits a forged request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. When an authenticated WordPress user visits the page, the browser attaches the site's session cookies and the plugin executes the action under the victim's identity. The impact is limited to integrity and availability of plugin-managed data, with no direct confidentiality exposure.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or improperly implemented CSRF protection on plugin request handlers. WordPress provides wp_nonce_field() and check_admin_referer() primitives to bind requests to a specific user session, but the affected eelv-newsletter versions do not consistently apply these controls to sensitive actions.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker crafts an HTML page containing an auto-submitting form or image tag that targets a vulnerable plugin endpoint on the victim's WordPress site. The attacker then lures an authenticated administrator or subscriber to that page through phishing, malvertising, or a compromised third-party site. Because the browser automatically includes the WordPress session cookie with the cross-origin request, the plugin processes the action as if the victim initiated it. See the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-54430
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to newsletter configuration, subscriber lists, or plugin settings without a corresponding administrator action.
- HTTP POST requests to eelv-newsletter endpoints with Referer headers pointing to external, untrusted domains.
- Web server logs showing state-changing requests to the plugin lacking a valid WordPress nonce parameter.
Detection Strategies
- Review WordPress access logs for requests to wp-admin/admin.php?page=eelv-newsletter* or similar plugin URIs originating from cross-origin Referer values.
- Correlate plugin configuration changes in the WordPress database (wp_options) with authenticated administrator activity windows.
- Deploy a web application firewall rule that flags state-changing requests to the eelv-newsletter plugin missing the _wpnonce parameter.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging to record all plugin setting changes with user, IP, and timestamp attribution.
- Monitor administrator sessions for concurrent browsing of untrusted external sites while logged into WordPress.
- Alert on newly created or modified newsletter templates and mailing lists outside of scheduled maintenance windows.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-54430
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the EELV Newsletter plugin to a version later than 4.8.2 as soon as the vendor releases a fix.
- If no patched version is available, deactivate and remove the eelv-newsletter plugin from all WordPress installations.
- Force administrators to re-authenticate and rotate session cookies after auditing recent plugin activity.
Patch Information
At the time of NVD publication, the vulnerability affects all versions through 4.8.2. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest patch status and vendor guidance.
Workarounds
- Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface by IP allowlist at the web server or firewall layer.
- Configure the browser SameSite=Lax or SameSite=Strict attribute on WordPress session cookies to reduce cross-origin cookie transmission.
- Train administrators to log out of WordPress before browsing untrusted sites and to use a dedicated browser profile for administrative work.
# Example: enforce SameSite cookie attribute via Apache configuration
Header edit Set-Cookie ^(.*)$ $1;\ SameSite=Strict
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
