# CVE-2024-8979: Information disclosure in Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets

> Authenticated attackers can extract sensitive user credentials via email notifications, potentially leading to privilege escalation in WordPress installations using this plugin.

- **Severity:** High 8.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 15 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-45w9-22fh-qrx4

## What is CVE-2024-8979?

CVE-2024-8979 is a high-severity vulnerability in Wpdeveloper Essential Addons for Elementor, published on 15 Nov 2024. 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 Essential Addons for Elementor – Best Elementor Addon, Templates, Widgets, Kits & WooCommerce Builders plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 6.0.9 via the 'init_content_lostpassword_user_email_controls' function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Author-level access and above, to extract sensitive data including usernames and passwords of any user, including Administrators, as long as that user opens the email notification for a password change request and images are not blocked by the email client.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-8979?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wpdeveloper Essential Addons for Elementor.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-8979?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-8979 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-8979 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-8979 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Wpdeveloper Essential Addons for Elementor

- [CVE-2023-32243](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-32243/): WordPress Essential Addons for Elementor Plugin 5.4.0-5.7.1 is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-0320](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0320/): Essential Addons for Elementor < 5.0.5 - Unauthenticated LFI (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-4447](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4447/): Essential Addons for Elementor <= 4.6.4 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Privilege Escalation (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-41955](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41955/): WordPress Essential Addons for Elementor plugin <= 5.8.8 - Contributor+ Privilege Escalation vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-3018](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-3018/): Essential Addons for Elementor <= 5.9.13 - Authenticated (Author+) PHP Object Injection via error_resetpassword (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-8979 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-8979 is a high-severity vulnerability in Wpdeveloper Essential Addons for Elementor, published on 15 Nov 2024. 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-2024-8979 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Wpdeveloper Essential Addons for Elementor. 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-2024-8979/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-8979/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-8979
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-8979
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-8979

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-8979/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.