# CVE-2021-24657: Limit Login Attempts < 4.0.50 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting

> An unauthenticated attacker can inject malicious scripts via IP headers that execute in the admin reports table of the Limit Login Attempts plugin.

- **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:** 20 Sep 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-68r9-qhv3-7fgg

## What is CVE-2021-24657?

CVE-2021-24657 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown Limit Login Attempts, published on 20 Sep 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 Limit Login Attempts WordPress plugin before 4.0.50 does not escape the IP addresses (which can be controlled by attacker via headers such as X-Forwarded-For) of attempted logins before outputting them in the reports table, leading to an Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting issue.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-24657?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Limit Login Attempts Project Limit Login Attempts.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-24657?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-24657 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-24657 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-24657 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Limit Login Attempts WordPress - Stored Cross-site Scripting (nuclei): http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-24657.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Unknown Limit Login Attempts

- [CVE-2022-0787](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0787/): Limit Login Attempts (Spam Protection) < 5.1 - Unauthenticated SQLi (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2012-10001](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-10001/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-1912](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1912/): Limit Login Attempts <= 1.7.1 - Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2023-1861](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1861/): Limit Login Attempts < 1.7.2 - Subscriber+ Stored XSS (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-24657 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-24657 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Unknown Limit Login Attempts, published on 20 Sep 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-2021-24657 exists.

Affected product: Unknown Limit Login Attempts. 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-2021-24657/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24657/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-24657
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-24657
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24657

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24657/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.