dbcve.org
Essential BlocksWordPress extension · Wpdeveloper

CVE-2024-1854

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 Essential Blocks – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the blockId parameter in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor access or higher, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

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 Essential Blocks WordPress plugin versions up to 4.5.1 contains a stored XSS vulnerability in the blockId parameter due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. Authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher can inject arbitrary JavaScript that executes when other users access the affected pages.

MitigationUpdate the Essential Blocks plugin to version 4.5.2 or later which includes proper input sanitization and output escaping for the blockId parameter. Until patched, limit contributor-level access or monitor for malicious injected content.

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
Essential BlocksWordPress extension
Affected:< 4.5.2

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
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 checks

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

  1. Verify Essential Blocks plugin installation and version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'Essential Blocks' by WPDeveloper, or check the version via FTP/file access in /wp-content/plugins/essential-blocks/readme.txt under the 'Stable tag' line
    Affected if The plugin is installed and version is below 4.5.2
  2. Identify blocks using the blockId parameter
    Inspect the plugin files in /wp-content/plugins/essential-blocks/ for blocks that process a 'blockId' GET or POST parameter, typically in frontend render files or AJAX handlers
    Affected if Any block or functionality that accepts and outputs the blockId parameter without sanitization exists in the plugin
  3. Confirm contributor-level or higher user roles exist
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and review role assignments; check if any users have 'Contributor', 'Author', 'Editor', or 'Administrator' roles
    Affected if At least one user account with contributor-level permissions or higher exists on the site
  4. Check for existing XSS payload storage in blockId data
    Query the WordPress postmeta database table (wp_postmeta) for meta_key values containing 'blockId' or inspect saved block configurations in the wp_posts table where blocks are stored
    Affected if Stored meta entries contain unescaped JavaScript or HTML in blockId-related fields

Your environment is affected if the Essential Blocks plugin version is below 4.5.2 AND the blockId parameter functionality is in use on your site.

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 4.5.2 or later
Fixed in 4.5.2
Interim mitigation

Update the Essential Blocks plugin to version 4.5.2 or later which includes proper input sanitization and output escaping for the blockId parameter. Until patched, limit contributor-level access or monitor for malicious injected content.

Recommended fix High confidence

Essential Blocks 4.5.2

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard.
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  3. 3. Locate the Essential Blocks plugin.
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to version 4.5.2 or later.
  5. 5. Alternatively, download version 4.5.2 from the WordPress plugin repository and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  6. 6. After updating, verify the version number reflects 4.5.2 or higher.

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

Fix this in Essential Blocks Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2024-1854 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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