dbcve.org
Wp Meta SeoWordPress extension · Joomunited

CVE-2024-45456

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.5.14 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 ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in JoomUnited WP Meta SEO wp-meta-seo allows Stored XSS.This issue affects WP Meta SEO: from n/a through <= 4.5.13.

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

A stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the WP Meta SEO WordPress plugin. The plugin fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it in web pages, allowing authenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the browsers of other users viewing the affected pages.

MitigationUpdate WP Meta SEO to the latest version when available. Until a patch is released, review and sanitize all user input fields within the plugin, and implement proper output encoding using WordPress sanitization functions (sanitize_text_field, esc_html, esc_attr) when displaying data.

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 Meta SeoWordPress extension
Affected:< 4.5.14

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 Meta SEO plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'WP Meta SEO' or 'Wp Meta SEO' in the list
    Affected if The plugin is not found in the installed plugins list - you are not affected
  2. Check the installed version number
    In the plugins list, find the WP Meta SEO entry and note the version number displayed below the plugin name
    Affected if The version is less than 4.5.14 (for example, 4.5.13, 4.5.12, etc.) - you are likely affected
  3. Confirm the plugin is active
    In WordPress admin > Plugins, check if WP Meta SEO shows as 'Active' under the plugin status
    Affected if The plugin is active - the vulnerability can be exploited
  4. Check for unauthorized admin accounts
    Navigate to Users > All Users in WordPress admin and review the user list for any unfamiliar administrator accounts that may have been created via the XSS vulnerability
    Affected if New or unexpected admin accounts appear that you did not create - indicates potential exploitation

You are affected if WP Meta SEO is installed, active, and the version is below 4.5.14, as the plugin lacks proper input sanitization allowing stored XSS attacks.

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 4.5.14 or later
Fixed in 4.5.14
Interim mitigation

Update WP Meta SEO to the latest version when available. Until a patch is released, review and sanitize all user input fields within the plugin, and implement proper output encoding using WordPress sanitization functions (sanitize_text_field, esc_html, esc_attr) when displaying data.

Recommended fix High confidence

WP Meta SEO version 4.5.14

  1. 1. Create a full backup of your WordPress site (database and files) before performing any updates.
  2. 2. Navigate to Dashboard > Plugins in your WordPress admin panel.
  3. 3. Locate WP Meta SEO in the installed plugins list.
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to version 4.5.14.
  5. 5. Alternatively, navigate to Dashboard > Updates to see all available updates and select WP Meta SEO for upgrading.
  6. 6. After updating, verify the plugin status shows version 4.5.14.
  7. 7. Test critical SEO functionality (meta tag editing, sitemap generation) to confirm the update did not break existing features.
  8. 8. If available, test in a staging environment first before applying to production.
Caveat Minor release update; review plugin changelog for any functionality changes before production deployment

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

Fix this in Wp Meta Seo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-45456 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-45456 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