Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This affects WordPress sites using Profile Builder before 3.4.8. A high-privilege user could save script in a redirect-delay setting, creating stored XSS. The business concern is mainly delegated admin risk, because the issue works even when WordPress normally disallows unfiltered HTML.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority WordPress hygiene issue. Patch promptly on public or multi-admin sites, but urgency is lower than unauthenticated remote compromise.
Technical view
CVE-2021-24448 is CWE-79 in the User Registration & User Profile – Profile Builder plugin before 3.4.8. The plugin does not sanitize or escape the “Modify default Redirect Delay timer” setting, allowing authenticated stored JavaScript injection by high-privilege users despite unfiltered_html being disabled.
Likely exposure
Likely exposed assets are WordPress sites running Profile Builder versions before 3.4.8, especially sites with multiple administrators or constrained admin roles.
Exploitation context
The provided sources describe authenticated stored XSS requiring high privilege. They do not cite public exploitation, and KEV status is false.
Researcher notes
Evidence is concise but consistent: before 3.4.8, one named setting lacks sanitization or escaping. No CVSS vector, exploit details, or broader affected product list were provided.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Profile Builder to version 3.4.8 or later.
- Review vendor and WPScan guidance for any additional remediation notes.
- Limit administrative access to trusted users only.
- Audit plugin settings for unexpected script-like content.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using the Profile Builder plugin.
- Confirm installed plugin version is 3.4.8 or later.
- Check whether delegated administrators can access Profile Builder settings.
- Review security logs for suspicious admin setting changes.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-24448 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/81e42812-93eb-480d-a2d2-5ba5e02dd0baCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.