CVE-2024-13878

HighPublic PoC

Published: 20 March 2025

Published

20 March 2025

Modified

08 April 2025

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score v3.1 7.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

EPSS Score 0.0014 33.3th percentile

Risk Priority 14 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2024-13878 is a high-severity Cross-site Scripting (CWE-79) vulnerability in Jakehelbig Spotbot. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 33.3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-15 (Information Output Filtering).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2024-13878 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, classified under CWE-79, affecting the SpotBot WordPress plugin in versions through 0.1.8. The flaw arises because the plugin does not sanitize and escape a parameter before outputting it back in the page, enabling attackers to inject and execute malicious scripts in the browser of affected users. Published on 2025-03-20, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L), rated as high severity due to its network accessibility and potential for scope change.

An unauthenticated attacker (PR:N) can exploit this vulnerability over the network (AV:N) with low complexity (AC:L) by crafting a malicious payload in the unsanitized parameter and tricking a victim—particularly high-privilege users like administrators—into interacting with it via user interface action (UI:R), such as clicking a link. Successful exploitation executes JavaScript in the victim's browser context with changed scope (S:C), potentially leading to low-level impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:L/I:L/A:L), such as stealing session cookies or performing actions on behalf of the victim.

Mitigation details are available in the WPScan advisory at https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/882b2022-4ed6-4d9e-8b35-f48ea1580884/. Security practitioners should consult this reference for patching instructions and workaround guidance specific to the SpotBot plugin.

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-6752

Vulnerability details

The SpotBot WordPress plugin through 0.1.8 does not sanitise and escape a parameter before outputting it back in the page, leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting which could be used against high privilege users such as admin.

CWE(s): CWE-79

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.

attack.mitre.org →

T1059.007 JavaScript Execution

Adversaries may abuse various implementations of JavaScript for execution.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Reflected XSS in public-facing WordPress plugin enables direct exploitation of the web application (T1190) and execution of attacker-supplied JavaScript in the victim's browser (T1059.007).

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0