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Shortcodes UltimateWordPress extension · Getshortcodes

CVE-2023-23800

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.12.6 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Vova Anokhin WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate.This issue affects WP Shortcodes Plugin — Shortcodes Ultimate: from n/a through 5.12.6.

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

Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the Shortcodes Ultimate WordPress plugin allows attackers to make the vulnerable server perform arbitrary HTTP requests to internal or external resources. The vulnerability exists in versions up to 5.12.6 due to insufficient validation of user-supplied URLs in the plugin's shortcode functionality.

MitigationUpdate the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin to the latest version once available. If no patched version exists, disable the plugin until a fix is released or consider alternative plugins with similar functionality.

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
Shortcodes UltimateWordPress extension
Affected:<= 5.12.6

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 Shortcodes Ultimate plugin is installed
    Log into WordPress admin, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, and look for 'Shortcodes Ultimate' or 'Getshortcodes' in the list. Check if it shows as 'Active'.
    Affected if Plugin is installed and active with version 5.12.6 or lower
  2. Check installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Click on 'Shortcodes Ultimate' to view the plugin details, or check the plugin file /wp-content/plugins/shortcodes-ultimate/shortcodes-ultimate.php for the 'Version' header comment.
    Affected if Version displayed is 5.12.6 or any lower version number
  3. Identify vulnerable shortcode usage
    Search WordPress posts, pages, and widget content for shortcodes that accept URL parameters, such as [su_animate], [su_button], or any shortcode that might accept a 'url' or 'link' attribute that could be controlled by user input.
    Affected if Any content uses shortcodes from this plugin with URL-related attributes
  4. Review server access logs for suspicious requests
    Examine web server access logs (Apache, Nginx) for the site for unusual outbound requests originating from the server, especially to internal resources (127.0.0.1, 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x) or unexpected external domains that coincide with the time frame the plugin was active.
    Affected if Logs show the server making outbound HTTP requests that were not initiated by legitimate administrator actions
  5. Check for unexpected scheduled tasks or cron jobs
    In WordPress admin, go to Tools > Scheduled Events or review wp_options table for cron entries that may indicate the vulnerability was exploited to create persistent scheduled tasks.
    Affected if New or unfamiliar scheduled tasks appear that were not created by the administrator

A user is affected if the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin is installed and active with version 5.12.6 or lower, particularly if the vulnerable shortcode functionality is accessible to untrusted users.

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 a release after 5.12.6
Interim mitigation

Update the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin to the latest version once available. If no patched version exists, disable the plugin until a fix is released or consider alternative plugins with similar functionality.

Fix this in Shortcodes Ultimate Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 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.

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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-2023-23800 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