Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A WordPress site using Widget BUY.BOX up to version 3.1.5 can let a logged-in Contributor or higher store malicious script through the plugin shortcode. The script runs when someone views the affected page. This is a business risk for sites with multiple authors, contractors, or compromised editor accounts.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority web publishing risk. Prioritize sites with public traffic, many content users, third-party contributors, or elevated account compromise concerns. Do not delay basic access review while waiting for fuller vendor remediation details.
Technical view
CVE-2024-13679 is stored cross-site scripting in the Widget BUY.BOX WordPress plugin buybox-widget shortcode. Sources cite insufficient sanitization and output escaping of shortcode attributes. The issue requires authenticated Contributor-level access or above and has CVSS 3.1 score 6.4, with low confidentiality and integrity impact and changed scope.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to WordPress installations running Widget BUY.BOX versions up to and including 3.1.5, especially where Contributor-level accounts exist. The source bundle does not identify affected hosting providers, themes, or other plugins.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other cited evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability is still meaningful because any Contributor-level account, including a compromised one, may persist script in content that later executes for visitors or administrators.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports authenticated stored XSS via shortcode attributes and CWE-79. The bundle does not name a patched version, exploit activity, or detailed code-diff remediation. The affected metadata also includes an odd version value, so rely on the narrative version range up to 3.1.5.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for Widget BUY.BOX and record installed versions.
- Check vendor or WordPress plugin guidance for a fixed release before upgrading.
- Disable or remove the plugin where it is not business-critical.
- Restrict Contributor-level access to trusted users only.
- Review existing content using the buybox-widget shortcode for suspicious attributes.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Widget BUY.BOX is installed and whether the version is 3.1.5 or older.
- List WordPress accounts with Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator roles.
- Audit posts and pages containing the buybox-widget shortcode.
- Verify shortcode output escaping in staging using benign test strings.
- Confirm any remediation against vendor guidance once available.
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-2024-13679 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.
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:N3.12.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability 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
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.