Attack Vectors

ListingPro – WordPress Directory & Listing Theme (slug: listingpro) has a High-severity vulnerability (CVE-2024-39624, CVSS 8.8, vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) affecting all versions up to and including 2.9.4. Because this issue is exploitable remotely over the network and requires only authenticated access (Subscriber or higher), it can be triggered by accounts that many organizations intentionally allow (e.g., customer/community signups, partner portals, or staff with basic access).

In practical business terms, any workflow that creates low-privilege WordPress users (membership registrations, directory submissions, event listings, “claim this listing” flows, etc.) increases exposure. If an attacker can register or obtain a Subscriber account (through credential reuse, phishing, or a weak password), they may be able to leverage this weakness to access or run files on the server.

Reference: CVE-2024-39624 and source advisory: Wordfence vulnerability record.

Security Weakness

This vulnerability is a Local File Inclusion (LFI) issue in ListingPro versions <= 2.9.4. LFI weaknesses occur when a site allows user-controlled input to influence which files the server loads. In this case, authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above may be able to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, which can lead to execution of PHP code contained in those files.

From a risk perspective, LFI is especially concerning because it can be used to bypass access controls and expose sensitive data. It may also enable broader compromise in situations where “safe” uploads (such as images or other file types) can be placed on the server and then included in a way that results in code execution.

Remediation: Update ListingPro to version 2.9.5 or a newer patched version.

Technical or Business Impacts

If exploited, this High-severity issue can create outcomes that directly affect revenue, brand trust, and compliance posture. Potential impacts include exposure of sensitive information (such as configuration details or other data accessible on the server), unauthorized actions by bypassing intended permissions, and in some scenarios code execution that can lead to deeper site compromise.

For marketing leaders and executives, the business impact can include: website defacement, SEO spam injection, malware distribution to visitors, loss of lead-gen and e-commerce conversions due to downtime or browser warnings, incident response and remediation costs, and potential reporting or contractual obligations if customer or partner data is exposed.

Similar Attacks: File inclusion and closely related path traversal weaknesses have been widely abused across the industry. Examples include Apache HTTP Server path traversal and related follow-on exploitation documented as CVE-2021-41773 and CVE-2021-42013, which illustrate how quickly attackers weaponize file-access flaws when they can reach them remotely.