dbcve.org
MailpoetWordPress extension · Automattic

CVE-2019-11843

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.23.2 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The MailPoet plugin before 3.23.2 for WordPress allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML using extra parameters in the URL (Reflective Server-Side XSS).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The MailPoet WordPress plugin before version 3.23.2 contains a reflective server-side cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. Attackers can inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML by adding extra parameters to URLs, which are then reflected back to users without proper sanitization.

MitigationUpdate the MailPoet plugin to version 3.23.2 or later to apply the security patch. Ensure proper input validation and output encoding is implemented in custom code if using the plugin.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
MailpoetWordPress extension
Affected:< 3.23.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify MailPoet plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for the mailpoet folder, or view installed plugins in wp-admin > Plugins
    Affected if The mailpoet folder exists in the plugins directory
  2. Determine installed MailPoet version
    Open wp-content/plugins/mailpoet/mailpoet.php and locate the 'Version:' header in the plugin comments, or check the version displayed in wp-admin > Plugins > MailPoet
    Affected if Version number retrieved is lower than 3.23.2
  3. Confirm vulnerability is present
    Review the plugin code that handles URL parameters - look for any $_GET or $_REQUEST usage where user input is reflected back in page output without sanitization functions like esc_html() or esc_attr()
    Affected if Reflective URL parameter handling without proper output encoding exists in the plugin code

A user is affected if the MailPoet plugin is installed and its version is below 3.23.2, as this version introduced sanitization for reflected URL parameters to prevent XSS.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.23.2 or later
Fixed in 3.23.2
Interim mitigation

Update the MailPoet plugin to version 3.23.2 or later to apply the security patch. Ensure proper input validation and output encoding is implemented in custom code if using the plugin.

Fix this in Mailpoet Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-11843 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data