Modern Events Calendar <= 7.11.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary File Upload
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 7.12.0
- Affected Plugin
- Modern Events Calendar Lite
- Affected Version
<= 7.11.0- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-434 · Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
- CVE
CVE-2024-5441
At a glance
CVE-2024-5441 is a high-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability in the Modern Events Calendar Lite WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.11.0. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 7.12.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2024, reported by Foxyyy.
Vulnerability Overview
The Modern Events Calendar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to missing file type validation in the set_featured_image function in all versions up to, and including, 7.11.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber access and above, to upload arbitrary files on the affected site's server which may make remote code execution possible. The plugin allows administrators (via its settings) to extend the ability to submit events to unauthenticated users, which would allow unauthenticated attackers to exploit this vulnerability.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
Reaching this weakness in Modern Events Calendar Lite <= 7.11.0 takes an account at Subscriber level or above. An unrestricted file upload lets a caller store a file whose type or destination the application does not properly constrain.
If an uploaded file lands anywhere the server will execute, the flaw becomes remote code execution and the site should be treated as fully compromised. For Modern Events Calendar Lite the fix is 7.12.0: builds <= 7.11.0 are affected, anything from 7.12.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 7.12.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Subscriber access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Modern Events Calendar Lite 7.12.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
Other vulnerabilities in Modern Events Calendar Lite
- 9.8CVE-2021-24946: Modern Events Calendar Lite Blind SQL Injection
CVE-2021-24946 - 8.8CVE-2021-24149: Modern Events Calendar Lite <= 5.16.5 SQL Injection
CVE-2021-24149 - 8.5CVE-2024-6522: Modern Events Calendar <= 7.12.1 SSRF
CVE-2024-6522 - 7.5CVE-2026-11349: Modern Events Calendar (Lite & Pro) SQL Injection
CVE-2026-11349 - 7.5CVE-2021-24146: Modern Events Calendar Lite <= 5.16.4 Events Export
CVE-2021-24146 - 6.4CVE-2022-30533: Modern Events Calendar Lite <= 6.2.9 XSS
CVE-2022-30533 - 6.4CVE-2022-0364: Modern Events Calendar Lite <= 6.3.0 Stored XSS
CVE-2022-0364 - 6.4CVE-2021-24147: Modern Events Calendar Lite <= 5.16.4 Stored XSS
CVE-2021-24147
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C