Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-24565 affects the WordPress Contact Form 7 Captcha plugin before 0.0.9. An attacker could trick a privileged logged-in administrator into changing plugin settings, and unsafe output of those settings could create stored cross-site scripting on the site.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted WordPress hygiene issue. Prioritize externally facing WordPress sites using the affected plugin, especially business-critical sites where administrator compromise or stored script execution would affect customers or lead capture.
Technical view
The plugin lacked CSRF protection when saving settings requiring manage_options, and did not escape settings when rendering them into HTML attributes. This combines CWE-352 and CWE-79: unauthorized settings modification through administrator interaction can persist attacker-controlled script content in plugin output.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running Contact Form 7 Captcha versions before 0.0.9. Sites without the plugin, or already updated to 0.0.9 or later, are not indicated as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. Practical exploitation appears to require a logged-in privileged WordPress user with manage_options to be induced into a CSRF action.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a CSRF-to-stored-XSS chain in plugin settings. The source bundle does not include CVSS scoring, exploit publication details, or evidence of exploitation in the wild. The WordPress Trac changeset is the confirmation reference for the fix.
Mitigation direction
- Update Contact Form 7 Captcha to 0.0.9 or later.
- Check vendor and WordPress plugin guidance for current fixed versions.
- Restrict WordPress administrator access to trusted users only.
- Review plugin settings for unexpected or unsafe content.
- Remove the plugin if it is unused or unsupported.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using Contact Form 7 Captcha.
- Confirm installed plugin versions are not below 0.0.9.
- Review recent plugin settings changes for suspicious values.
- Check pages rendering the plugin for unexpected script behavior.
- Confirm only trusted users have manage_options capability.
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-352: 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 lookupCWE-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-2021-24565 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/97bfef5e-2ee0-491a-a931-4f44c83e5be0CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/2570402CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
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.