CVE-2021-24159
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedDue to the lack of sanitization and lack of nonce protection on the custom CSS feature, an attacker could craft a request to inject malicious JavaScript on a site using the Contact Form 7 Style WordPress plugin through 3.1.9. If an attacker successfully tricked a site’s administrator into clicking a link or attachment, then the request could be sent and the CSS settings would be successfully updated to include malicious JavaScript.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceStored XSS vulnerability in Contact Form 7 Style WordPress plugin versions through 3.1.9. The custom CSS feature lacks both sanitization of user input and nonce protection, allowing an attacker who social engineers a site administrator into clicking a malicious link/attachment to inject persistent JavaScript into the plugin's CSS settings.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 3.1.9CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify plugin installation and versionIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'Contact Form 7 Style' (also known as Rocklobster Contact Form 7). Note the installed version number displayed there.Affected if The plugin is installed and the version shown is 3.1.9 or lower.
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Check for custom CSS configurationNavigate to the plugin settings in WordPress admin (usually under Contact > CF7 Style or a dedicated Style settings page). Look for any custom CSS input fields or text areas where CSS can be saved.Affected if The plugin has a custom CSS feature and it contains any JavaScript code (such as <script> tags, javascript: URLs, or event handlers like onload, onerror).
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Inspect database for stored malicious CSSAccess the WordPress database via phpMyAdmin or command line. Query the wp_options table (or options table with appropriate prefix) for records where option_name contains 'cf7_style' or 'contact_form_7_style' and examine the option_value for suspicious content.Affected if Any stored option value contains HTML script tags, encoded JavaScript, or unexpected CSS declarations that include JavaScript execution.
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Review admin account for unauthorized changesCheck WordPress admin user accounts under Users > All Users. Look for newly created administrator accounts or modifications to existing admin accounts that were not authorized.Affected if Unexpected administrator accounts exist or admin profiles show suspicious activity.
The environment is affected if the Contact Form 7 Style plugin version is 3.1.9 or lower AND the custom CSS feature is in use with malicious JavaScript injected into saved CSS settings.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Contact Form 7 Style plugin to version 3.2.0 or later which adds proper input sanitization and nonce validation. Review admin user accounts for suspicious CSS entries.
Contact Form 7 Style version 3.2.0 or later
- Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
- Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Locate the 'Contact Form 7 Style' plugin
- Check if an update is available - update to version 3.2.0 or the latest available version
- After updating, verify the custom CSS functionality still works correctly
- Clear any caching plugins if the site uses them
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-24159 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-24159 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data