dbcve.org
Wp Post AuthorWordPress extension · Afthemes

CVE-2024-37101

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.6.8 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
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in AF themes WP Post Author allows Stored XSS.This issue affects WP Post Author: from n/a through 3.6.7.

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 · moderate confidence

Stored XSS vulnerability in WP Post Author plugin allows attackers to inject malicious scripts through user-supplied input that gets stored in the database and executed when other users view author-related content.

MitigationUpdate to patched version with proper input sanitization and output encoding; review all user input fields and apply WordPress escaping functions (esc_html, esc_attr, wp_kses) before displaying.

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
Wp Post AuthorWordPress extension
Affected:< 3.6.8

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
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 WP Post Author plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'WP Post Author' or 'Afthemes Wp Post Author' in the list. Note whether it is active or inactive.
    Affected if Plugin is installed and active. An inactive plugin with no stored data may not be exploitable but still represents risk.
  2. Check installed plugin version
    In the Plugins list, click on the plugin name to view details, or inspect the plugin header in wp-content/plugins/wp-post-author/index.php to find the 'Version:' field. Compare against 3.6.8.
    Affected if Version number is less than 3.6.8 (e.g., 3.6.7, 3.6.6, etc.). All versions below 3.6.8 are affected.
  3. Identify author input fields used by the plugin
    Go to Users > Your Profile (or Users > Edit User for any user). Locate fields added by WP Post Author plugin such as author bio, display name, social links, or custom author boxes where users can enter text.
    Affected if The plugin adds any text input fields on user profile pages where content is saved to the database.
  4. Query database for stored scripts in author meta
    Access phpMyAdmin or run SQL query: SELECT * FROM wp_usermeta WHERE meta_value LIKE '%<script%' OR meta_value LIKE '%onerror=%' OR meta_value LIKE '%javascript:%'. Check for any malicious script tags or event handlers stored in author-related meta fields.
    Affected if Any author meta fields contain unsanitized script tags, event handlers (onerror, onload, onclick), or javascript: URIs.
  5. Inspect page source for missing output encoding
    View the author bio or author profile page on the frontend. Right-click > View Page Source. Search for raw user input that should have been escaped. Look for unescaped < > " characters in author content areas.
    Affected if User-supplied content displays with raw HTML tags visible or without HTML entity encoding (e.g., <script> appears as <script> rather than &lt;script&gt;).

User is affected if the plugin version is below 3.6.8 AND the plugin is active with author input fields in use, or if malicious scripts are already stored in the database.

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 3.6.8 or later
Fixed in 3.6.8
Interim mitigation

Update to patched version with proper input sanitization and output encoding; review all user input fields and apply WordPress escaping functions (esc_html, esc_attr, wp_kses) before displaying.

Recommended fix High confidence

WP Post Author version 3.6.8

  1. Backup your WordPress site before making any changes
  2. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins
  3. Find 'WP Post Author' in the installed plugins list
  4. Click 'Update now' when an update to version 3.6.8 or later is available
  5. Verify the plugin was updated to version 3.6.8 or higher
  6. Test that the post author functionality works correctly after the update

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

Fix this in Wp Post Author Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,820
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,512.

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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-2024-37101 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