# CVE-2021-24365: Admin Columns Free (< 4.3.2) & Pro (< 5.5.2) - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in Custom Field

> Authenticated attackers can inject malicious scripts via unescaped custom field columns in Admin Columns, potentially leading to session hijacking or code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Jul 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q7j6-278p-wvrh

## What is CVE-2021-24365?

CVE-2021-24365 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in AdminColumns Admin Columns, published on 12 Jul 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The Admin Columns WordPress plugin Free before 4.3.2 and Pro before 5.5.2 allowed to configure individual columns for tables. Each column had a type. The type "Custom Field" allowed to choose an arbitrary database column to display in the table. There was no escaping applied to the contents of "Custom Field" columns.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-24365?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Admincolumns Admin Columns.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-24365?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-24365 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-24365 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-24365 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in AdminColumns Admin Columns

- [CVE-2019-17661](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-17661/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-24366](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24366/): Admin Columns Free < 4.3 & Pro < 5.5.1 - Admin+ Stored XSS in Label (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-24365 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-24365 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in AdminColumns Admin Columns, published on 12 Jul 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-24365 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: AdminColumns Admin Columns. 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-2021-24365/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24365/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24365
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24365
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24365

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24365/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.