Elementor ProWordPress extension · Elementor
CVE-2024-1521
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 · uneditedThe Elementor Website Builder Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via an SVGZ file uploaded via the Form widget in all versions up to, and including, 3.20.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. NOTE: This vulnerability is only exploitable on web servers running NGINX. It is not exploitable on web servers running Apache HTTP Server.
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 confidenceThe Elementor Website Builder Pro plugin for WordPress versions up to 3.20.1 contain a stored XSS vulnerability in the Form widget's file upload feature. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access can upload malicious SVGZ files containing embedded JavaScript payloads. Due to insufficient input sanitization on upload and inadequate output escaping when the file is served, the malicious script executes in victim browsers whenever they access an injected page. The vulnerability is NGINX-specific due to how NGINX handles SVGZ MIME types and Content-Disposition headers differently than Apache.
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
Elementor ProWordPress extension
< 3.20.2CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify installed Elementor Pro versionIn WordPress admin, go to Elementor > About or check the plugins list to view the installed version number. Compare it to the affected range: versions < 3.20.2 are vulnerable.Affected if Installed version is lower than 3.20.2
-
Check if Form widget with file upload is in useReview published pages and templates in the WordPress site. Look for any pages containing Elementor Form widgets that have the file upload field enabled. Check the page source or Elementor template list for forms with upload fields.Affected if Any Form widget with file upload field is published on the site
-
Verify web server typeCheck the server HTTP response headers or run 'nginx -v' or 'apache2 -v' on the command line. The vulnerability is NGINX-specific as described in the CVE details.Affected if The web server is NGINX
-
Inspect uploaded files for SVGZ contentIn WordPress Media Library, filter for SVGZ file types or check the wp-content/uploads directory for .svgz files. Open suspicious files in a text editor to look for embedded JavaScript tags (script elements, event handlers like onload, onerror, or javascript: URLs).Affected if Any SVGZ files exist in the media library or uploads folder containing script tags or JavaScript payloads
-
Check for suspicious content in form submissionsReview WordPress form submission data in the database (wp_posts, wp_postmeta for form entries) or Elementor's form action logs. Look for entries where the file field contains SVGZ files that may have been injected into pages.Affected if Form entries contain references to SVGZ files that could have been used for XSS injection
The environment is affected if Elementor Pro version is below 3.20.2, the site uses NGINX, and a Form widget with file upload is published, allowing potential SVGZ-based XSS injection.
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 · scoped3.20.2
Update Elementor Website Builder Pro to version 3.20.2 or later which contains the patch for proper SVGZ file sanitization. Until patched, consider restricting contributor-level users from using Form widget file uploads or converting NGINX to Apache if feasible.
Elementor Pro 3.20.2 or later
- Backup your WordPress site before making any changes
- Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
- Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Find Elementor Pro and click 'Update now' if an update is available, or manually upload version 3.20.2 or later
- Verify the updated version in the plugins list
- Clear any caching layers (site cache, CDN cache) after the update
- Test the Form widget functionality to ensure it works correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Elementor Pro
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-1521 — 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-2024-1521 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
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.
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