Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a stored XSS issue in a WordPress contact form plugin. An administrator-level user could save script content that later runs in another browser. Business impact is usually limited, but it matters on multisite or hardened WordPress environments where administrators are intentionally blocked from posting raw scripts.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate hygiene issue. Prioritize remediation on shared WordPress, multisite, agency-managed, or regulated sites where administrator restrictions are a meaningful security control.
Technical view
Contact Form Email up to and including 1.3.24 insufficiently validated and escaped the name parameter in cp-admin-int-list.inc.php. The issue is CWE-79 stored XSS with CVSS 4.8, requiring network access, low attack complexity, high privileges, and user interaction, with changed scope and limited confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the Contact Form Email plugin at affected versions, especially multisite installations or sites where unfiltered_html is disabled. The attacker must already have administrative user access, so this is not a broad unauthenticated internet-facing compromise path.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The vulnerability requires an authenticated administrative user and a later interaction where stored script content is rendered in a victim browser.
Researcher notes
The key constraint is privilege: sources describe administrative user access as required. Validate exposure by plugin version and WordPress configuration, not by generic WordPress presence. Evidence in the bundle does not name a specific fixed version beyond affected versions up to and including 1.3.24.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Contact Form Email plugin versions up to 1.3.24.
- Update or replace the plugin according to vendor or WordPress plugin guidance.
- Remove unnecessary administrative accounts and review administrator role assignments.
- Keep unfiltered_html restrictions enabled where they support site security policy.
- Review stored plugin data for unexpected script-like content.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Contact Form Email is installed and record its version.
- Check whether the site is multisite or disables unfiltered_html for administrators.
- Review the referenced WordPress Trac changeset for escaping or validation changes.
- Verify administrative pages render saved contact data with proper output escaping.
- Check logs and content records for suspicious changes by administrator accounts.
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-2021-42361 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N1.72.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/vulnerability-advisories/#CVE-2021-42361CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=2628041%40contact-form-to-email&new=2628041%40contact-form-to-email&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE 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.