PHP File Inclusion (RFI/LFI)Weakness · CWE-98

CVE-2024-3849

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 Click to Chat – HoliThemes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in all versions up to, and including, 3.35. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor access or above, to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files. This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution in cases where images and other “safe” file types can be uploaded and included.

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 Click to Chat – HoliThemes WordPress plugin versions up to 3.35 contains a Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability allowing authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, enabling PHP code execution and potential bypass of access controls.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 3.36 or later. If an update is unavailable, remove the plugin entirely. Review user role permissions and audit for any signs of exploitation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify the plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Click to Chat - HoliThemes'. Note the version number displayed under the plugin name.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and the version shown is 3.35 or lower (e.g., 3.35, 3.34, 3.33, etc.)
  2. Check plugin version via filesystem
    If you have file access, open the main plugin file (typically /wp-content/plugins/click-to-chat-for-whatsapp/ or similar) and look for the 'Version:' header in the plugin comment block, or check the version defined in the main PHP file.
    Affected if The version retrieved is 3.35 or below.
  3. Identify high-privilege user accounts
    In WordPress admin, go to Users and review the list for any accounts with the 'Contributor', 'Author', 'Editor', or 'Administrator' roles. These roles meet or exceed the contributor-level access required for exploitation.
    Affected if At least one user account with contributor-level access or higher exists in the WordPress installation.
  4. Audit access logs for LFI patterns
    Review your web server access logs (Apache/Nginx) and WordPress audit logs for suspicious requests to the plugin that include path traversal sequences such as '../' or references to sensitive files like '/etc/passwd' or wp-config.php.
    Affected if Such requests are found in the logs targeting the Click to Chat plugin endpoints.

You are affected if the Click to Chat - HoliThemes plugin is installed at version 3.35 or lower AND your site has at least one user with contributor-level access or higher.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the plugin to version 3.36 or later. If an update is unavailable, remove the plugin entirely. Review user role permissions and audit for any signs of exploitation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

3.36

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'Click to Chat – HoliThemes' in the plugin list
  4. Click 'Update now' if an update is available, or manually download version 3.36 from wordpress.org/plugins/click-chat
  5. After updating, verify the plugin version shows 3.36 or higher under Plugins > Installed Plugins

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get help mitigating

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-3849 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-3849 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