dbcve.org
Arconix ShortcodesWordPress extension · Tychesoftwares

CVE-2023-23703

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.1.7 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
Auth. (contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Tyche Softwares Arconix Shortcodes plugin <= 2.1.7 versions.

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 · moderate confidence

A stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the Arconix Shortcodes WordPress plugin. Authenticated users with contributor-level access or higher can inject malicious JavaScript through the plugin's shortcode functionality. The payload persists in the database and executes when other users (including administrators) view affected content in the wp-admin dashboard or on the frontend.

MitigationUpdate Arconix Shortcodes to a version beyond 2.1.7. If no update is available, implement proper input sanitization and output encoding on all shortcode attributes using WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_attr() and wp_kses_post().

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
Arconix ShortcodesWordPress extension
Affected:<= 2.1.7

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 Arconix Shortcodes plugin is installed
    Navigate to wp-admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins and search for 'Arconix Shortcodes' or 'Tychesoftwares Arconix Shortcodes'. Alternatively, check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for the plugin folder.
    Affected if The plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Check installed plugin version
    In wp-admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, locate the Arconix Shortcodes plugin and note the version number displayed below the plugin name. Compare this against the affected range: <= 2.1.7
    Affected if The installed version is 2.1.7 or lower
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In wp-admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, verify the Arconix Shortcodes plugin shows as 'Active' under the status column.
    Affected if The plugin is active and running
  4. Identify users with contributor-level or higher access
    Navigate to wp-admin > Users and review the user list. Check which users are assigned roles of Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator. These roles can create or edit content containing shortcodes.
    Affected if There are users with contributor-level or higher access who can create or edit posts/pages containing shortcodes
  5. Inspect database for suspicious shortcode content
    Query the wp_posts table in the database for entries containing the 'arconix' shortcode that may contain script tags or javascript: URIs. Example SQL: SELECT ID, post_title, post_content FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%[arconix%'
    Affected if Any shortcode content contains unsanitized script tags, event handlers, or javascript: protocols
  6. Check shortcode rendering on frontend and admin
    View a page or post containing Arconix shortcodes in both the wp-admin dashboard and the frontend. Inspect the page source to verify if shortcode attributes are properly escaped or if raw unsanitized content is rendered.
    Affected if Shortcode attributes render as raw unescaped HTML/JavaScript

A user is affected if Arconix Shortcodes version 2.1.7 or lower is installed and active, and there are contributor-level users who can create content containing the plugin shortcodes with unsanitized attributes.

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 a release after 2.1.7
Interim mitigation

Update Arconix Shortcodes to a version beyond 2.1.7. If no update is available, implement proper input sanitization and output encoding on all shortcode attributes using WordPress sanitization functions such as esc_attr() and wp_kses_post().

Recommended fix High confidence

Arconix Shortcodes 2.1.8 or later

  1. Log into the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find 'Arconix Shortcodes' in the plugin list
  4. Check if an update is available for the plugin
  5. If update available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version

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

Fix this in Arconix Shortcodes Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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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-2023-23703 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