Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2024-11642 is a critical-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Addonmaster Post Grid Master. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2024-11642 is a local file inclusion (LFI) vulnerability, classified under CWE-22 (path traversal), affecting the Post Grid Master – Custom Post Types, Taxonomies & Ajax Filter Everything with Infinite Scroll, Load More, Pagination & Shortcode Builder plugin for WordPress. The flaw exists in all versions up to and including 3.4.12 due to improper handling in the 'locate_template' function within Shortcode.php. This allows attackers to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, provided they have a .php extension, potentially leading to remote code execution.
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required, as indicated by its CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Successful exploitation enables the inclusion of arbitrary PHP files, allowing code execution, bypass of access controls, and extraction of sensitive data. The impact is heightened in environments where users can upload images or other "safe" file types that contain embedded PHP code.
Advisories, including those from Wordfence, highlight the vulnerability and point to code changes in version 3.4.13 of the plugin, visible in the WordPress plugin trac repository, as the fix. Security practitioners should urge immediate updates to version 3.4.13 or later for affected WordPress sites running the plugin to mitigate the risk of exploitation.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-34215
Vulnerability Data
The Post Grid Master – Custom Post Types, Taxonomies & Ajax Filter Everything with Infinite Scroll, Load More, Pagination & Shortcode Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 3.4.12 via…
more
the 'locate_template' function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files. This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution in cases where images and other “safe” file types can be uploaded and included. The file included must have a .php extension.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
—
V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.