Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2024-12599 affects the HT Mega WordPress plugin for Elementor. A logged-in user with Contributor-level access or higher could store malicious script content through the Countdown widget, causing it to run when others view the affected page.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate website integrity and account-governance issue. Prioritize sites with many content contributors, customer-facing pages, or elevated compliance sensitivity, but it is not presented as unauthenticated remote compromise.
Technical view
The issue is stored cross-site scripting in HT Mega – Absolute Addons For Elementor through version 2.8.1. The cited description attributes it to insufficient sanitization and output escaping of Countdown widget attributes. CVSS 3.1 is 6.4 with low privileges required and changed scope.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using HT Mega versions up to and including 2.8.1, especially where untrusted users have Contributor or higher access and can edit Elementor content using the Countdown widget.
Exploitation context
The CVE record does not indicate KEV listing, and the supplied sources do not state active exploitation. The practical risk depends on attacker access to a valid WordPress account with content-editing privileges.
Researcher notes
Key evidence is the Countdown widget XSS description, CWE-79 classification, CVSS vector, and WordPress plugin changeset reference. The provided affected-product metadata is sparse, so version exposure should be confirmed directly in WordPress installations.
Mitigation direction
- Update HT Mega to a version newer than 2.8.1, following the WordPress plugin vendor guidance.
- Restrict Contributor and higher accounts to trusted users until remediation is complete.
- Review pages using the Countdown widget for unexpected scripts or markup.
- Remove or republish affected content after confirming it is clean.
- Monitor Wordfence and plugin changelog for further advisories.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites for HT Mega versions up to and including 2.8.1.
- Identify users with Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator access.
- Review content containing the Countdown widget for unauthorized script-like content.
- Confirm the installed plugin version is newer than 2.8.1 after updating.
- Check security logs for suspicious edits to affected pages.
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-2024-12599 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
- 6.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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.
SSVC decision data
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:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N3.12.7WordfenceVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- Source timelineWordfence
Vendor Notified
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- Source timelineWordfence
Disclosed
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/20a67cde-612a-4c57-83d6-a5d8f3716a2d?source=cveCVE reference, Wordfence
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3234495/ht-mega-for-elementorCVE reference, Wordfence
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.