CVE-2024-12299

System Dashboard <= 2.8.17 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via Filename Parameter

2025-01-30 00:41

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 2.8.18
Affected Plugin: System Dashboard
Affected Version: <= 2.8.17
CVSS: 6.1Medium
Weakness type: CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
CVE: CVE-2024-12299

View all System Dashboard vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-12299 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in the System Dashboard WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.8.17. It carries a CVSS score of 6.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.8.18; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed January 2025, reported by vgo0.

Vulnerability Overview

The System Dashboard plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the Filename parameter in all versions up to, and including, 2.8.17 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick an administrative user into performing an action such as clicking on a link.

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 privileges on the target site.

CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Reaching this weakness in System Dashboard <= 2.8.17 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Cross-site scripting happens when input from a request is written into a page without being escaped for the context it lands in, so the browser parses attacker-supplied text as markup or script.

Injected script runs with the privileges of whoever views the affected page, which is how these flaws turn into administrator session theft, silent account creation or persistent backdoors in page content. For System Dashboard the fix is 2.8.18: builds <= 2.8.17 are affected, anything from 2.8.18 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.8.18, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to System Dashboard: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: System Dashboard 2.8.18 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

Firewall
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-12299 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/993670b7-a3ea-497d-ad46-881bd47b9346 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-12299

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in System Dashboard

CVSS Vector

6.1

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionRequired
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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