dbcve.org
NewslettersWordPress extension · Tribulant

CVE-2024-13739

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.9.8 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
The Newsletters plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the "to" parameter in all versions up to, and including, 4.9.9.7 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick an admin user into performing an action such as clicking on a link.

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 confidence

The Newsletters WordPress plugin versions up to 4.9.9.7 contain a reflected Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in the 'to' parameter. The parameter is not properly sanitized on input or escaped on output, allowing injection of malicious JavaScript code through a crafted URL.

MitigationUpdate the Newsletters plugin to a version beyond 4.9.9.7. As a temporary measure, instruct administrators to avoid clicking untrusted links that may contain the malicious 'to' parameter.

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
NewslettersWordPress extension
Affected:< 4.9.9.8

CVSS 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
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins > Newsletters. The version number is displayed under the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin file header in wp-content/plugins/newsletters-lite/newsletters.php or wp-content/plugins/newsletters/newsletters.php
    Affected if Version is 4.9.9.7 or earlier (< 4.9.9.8)
  2. Verify plugin is active
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and confirm the Newsletters plugin shows as 'Active'
    Affected if Plugin is active and the vulnerable code is loaded
  3. Identify pages using the 'to' parameter
    Search plugin source code for occurrences of $_GET['to'], $_REQUEST['to'], or the parameter name 'to' to identify which admin pages or public forms accept this parameter
    Affected if The plugin handles a 'to' parameter in requests
  4. Test for reflected XSS in the 'to' parameter
    Locate a page that accepts the 'to' parameter (such as subscription forms or newsletter sending interfaces). Append ?to=<script>alert(1)</script> to the URL and observe if the parameter value is reflected back unescaped in the HTML output
    Affected if The 'to' parameter value is rendered in the page HTML without proper escaping (sanitization on input and escaping on output are both missing)
  5. Inspect code handling the 'to' parameter
    Examine the PHP file that processes the 'to' parameter. Look for missing sanitize_text_field, esc_html, esc_attr, or similar sanitization functions before output, and missing input validation functions like sanitize_text_field or filter_var on input
    Affected if Code shows no sanitization on input (e.g., no sanitize_text_field, esc_attr) and no escaping on output (e.g., no esc_html, esc_attr)

You are affected if the Newsletters plugin version is 4.9.9.7 or earlier, the plugin is active, and the 'to' parameter is processed and reflected in page output without sanitization and escaping.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.9.9.8 or later
Fixed in 4.9.9.8
Interim mitigation

Update the Newsletters plugin to a version beyond 4.9.9.7. As a temporary measure, instruct administrators to avoid clicking untrusted links that may contain the malicious 'to' parameter.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.9.9.8

  1. Backup your WordPress site before making any changes
  2. Update the Newsletters plugin to version 4.9.9.8 or later through WordPress admin dashboard (Plugins > Updates)
  3. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version
  4. Clear any site caches if applicable
  5. Review admin action logs for any suspicious links clicked around the time of potential exploitation

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Newsletters Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,370
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,192.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-13739 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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