Attack Vectors

CVE-2024-11756 is a Medium-severity stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability (CVSS 6.4) affecting the WordPress plugin SweepWidget – Contests, Giveaways, Sweepstakes & Photo Contests (slug: sweepwidget) in versions 2.0.6 and earlier.

The attack requires an authenticated WordPress user with Contributor-level access or higher. An attacker can add malicious script content through the plugin’s “sweepwidget” shortcode by manipulating user-supplied shortcode attributes. The injected script is then stored in the page content and can execute when someone visits the affected page—without the visitor needing to click anything.

Security Weakness

This issue is caused by insufficient input sanitization and output escaping of user-supplied shortcode attributes within the plugin. In practical terms, the site accepts and later displays certain shortcode attribute values without sufficiently filtering or safely rendering them.

Because the vulnerability is stored, the risk is not limited to a single session: once injected, the malicious code can persist on a page and trigger repeatedly for future visitors until removed or the site is patched.

Technical or Business Impacts

For business leaders, the key risk is that stored XSS can undermine trust in your brand and disrupt marketing performance. If malicious scripts run on campaign or contest pages, visitors may experience unexpected redirects, fake pop-ups, altered page content, or other behaviors that damage credibility and reduce conversion rates.

From an operational and compliance perspective, this can also create downstream risk: compromised sessions for logged-in users, unauthorized changes performed under a legitimate user context, and potential exposure of limited information depending on what the script is able to access within the browser. Even when the CVSS score is 6.4 (Medium), the real-world impact can be meaningful if affected pages are highly trafficked or tied to revenue-generating initiatives.

Remediation: Update SweepWidget – Contests, Giveaways, Sweepstakes & Photo Contests to version 2.0.7 or newer (patched). Also review which users have Contributor (or higher) access, audit pages using the sweepwidget shortcode for unexpected or suspicious attributes, and consider tightening publishing workflows for marketing pages.

Similar Attacks

Stored XSS has been used in real-world incidents to hijack user sessions, redirect visitors, and inject unwanted content into trusted websites. Examples include:

Equifax breach (2017) – a widely cited case involving web application weaknesses and major brand impact

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (context on how web vulnerabilities are operationalized)

For reference on this specific vulnerability, see the official record and vendor intelligence: CVE-2024-11756 and Wordfence advisory.