GreenshiftWordPress extension · Wpsoul

CVE-2022-4653

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.8.9 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 Greenshift WordPress plugin before 4.8.9 does not validate and escape one of its shortcode attributes, which could allow users with a role as low as contributor to perform Stored Cross-Site Scripting attack.

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 Greenshift WordPress plugin before version 4.8.9 fails to validate and escape a shortcode attribute, allowing stored XSS. An authenticated user with contributor role can inject malicious JavaScript through the vulnerable shortcode attribute, which executes when viewed by other users.

MitigationUpdate Greenshift plugin to version 4.8.9 or later, which includes proper input validation and output escaping for the affected shortcode attribute.

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
GreenshiftWordPress extension
Affected:< 4.8.9

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 Greenshift plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Greenshift' or 'Wpsoul Greenshift' in the list. Alternatively, check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'greenshift' or similar.
    Affected if The plugin is found in the WordPress installation
  2. Check installed Greenshift version
    In WordPress admin > Plugins, find Greenshift and view the version number under the plugin name. Alternatively, check the main plugin file header in /wp-content/plugins/greenshift/ for the 'Version' tag.
    Affected if The version is lower than 4.8.9 (e.g., 4.8.8, 4.8.7, etc.)
  3. Identify shortcode usage in content
    Search WordPress posts, pages, and custom post types for the Greenshift shortcode. Common shortcode patterns may include [gsf_] or similar prefixes. Check post content, page content, and widget areas where shortcodes can be placed.
    Affected if Greenshift shortcodes are present in any published content
  4. Verify contributor-level user access exists
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and check for any users with the 'Contributor' role. Contributors can create and edit their own posts but cannot publish them directly.
    Affected if At least one user account has Contributor role or higher access to create content with shortcodes
  5. Check for unescaped shortcode attributes in content
    Review posts/pages containing Greenshift shortcodes. Look at the raw content in the editor (Gutenberg block editor or Classic editor) to inspect shortcode attribute values for any that appear unescaped or contain suspicious patterns like javascript:, onload=, or script tags.
    Affected if Shortcode attributes contain raw or improperly encoded values that could execute as JavaScript

You are affected if Greenshift plugin version is below 4.8.9 AND the vulnerable shortcode is present in your content AND a contributor-level user account exists in your WordPress installation.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.8.9 or later
Fixed in 4.8.9
Interim mitigation

Update Greenshift plugin to version 4.8.9 or later, which includes proper input validation and output escaping for the affected shortcode attribute.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.8.9 or later

  1. 1. Backup your WordPress site before making any changes
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard
  3. 3. Find the Greenshift plugin in the list
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to version 4.8.9 or later
  5. 5. Alternatively, upload and replace the plugin files manually with version 4.8.9 or newer
  6. 6. Verify the plugin version shows 4.8.9 or higher after updating
  7. 7. Clear any caching layers (site cache, CDN cache) after the update

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Greenshift Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-4653 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2022-4653 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