# CVE-2021-24342: JNews < 8.0.6 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

> Attackers can execute arbitrary scripts in victim browsers via unsanitized input in the JNews WordPress theme.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Jun 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-39gf-rwjm-m5hw

## What is CVE-2021-24342?

CVE-2021-24342 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown JNews, published on 7 Jun 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The JNews WordPress theme before 8.0.6 did not sanitise the cat_id parameter in the POST request /?ajax-request=jnews (with action=jnews_build_mega_category_*), leading to a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issue.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-24342?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Jnews Jnews.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-24342?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-24342 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-24342 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-24342 exists.

Public exploit code:

- WordPress JNews Theme <8.0.6 - Cross-Site Scripting (nuclei): http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-24342.yaml

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-24342 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-24342 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown JNews, published on 7 Jun 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-24342 exists.

Affected product: Unknown JNews. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24342/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24342/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24342
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24342
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24342

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24342/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.