Form BuilderWordPress extension · Web Settler
CVE-2023-23796
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 · uneditedImproper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File vulnerability in Muneeb Form Builder | Create Responsive Contact Forms.This issue affects Form Builder | Create Responsive Contact Forms: from n/a through 1.9.9.0.
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 confidenceThe Form Builder plugin for WordPress has a CSV injection vulnerability where user-submitted data exported to CSV files is not properly sanitized. Attackers can inject spreadsheet formula characters (=, +, -, @) that execute arbitrary commands when the CSV is opened in Excel or other spreadsheet software.
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
Form BuilderWordPress extension
<= 1.9.9.0CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Form Builder plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Form Builder' by Web Settler, or check the file /wp-content/plugins/ for a form-builder directoryAffected if The Web Settler Form Builder plugin is present on the WordPress site
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Check installed plugin versionIn WordPress admin_plugins list, view the plugin details to see the version number, or inspect the main plugin PHP file for a 'Version' header commentAffected if Version is 1.9.9.0 or lower (compare your installed version to the affected range of <= 1.9.9.0)
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Verify CSV export feature is accessibleLook for a CSV export option in the Form Builder settings or in the form submissions view where admin can export data to CSVAffected if CSV export functionality is enabled and available to administrators
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Inspect recent CSV exports for suspicious contentLocate any recently exported CSV files (check /wp-content/uploads/ or downloads folder) and open them in a text editor to inspect if user-submitted fields contain characters: =, +, -, @ at the start of field valuesAffected if Any CSV export contains user data starting with formula characters (=, +, -, @) without proper escaping (field should be prefixed with single quote or sanitized)
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Review form submission logsCheck the Form Builder submission storage for any entries where user input fields contain formula characters (=, +, -, @) as the first characterAffected if Form submissions contain unsanitized formula injection characters in any user input fields
You are affected if the Web Settler Form Builder plugin version is 1.9.9.0 or lower AND CSV export functionality is being used, as unsanitized user data can be exported enabling formula injection attacks.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate the plugin to a version beyond 1.9.9.0 which should contain proper CSV field sanitization, or disable the CSV export functionality until a patched version is available.
Fix this in Form Builder
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-23796 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-23796 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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