CVE-2023-25050
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 Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Vova Anokhin Shortcodes Ultimate allows Absolute Path Traversal.This issue affects 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 confidenceThe Shortcodes Ultimate WordPress plugin versions up to 5.12.6 contains an absolute path traversal vulnerability that allows attackers to access files outside the intended web root directory by manipulating file path inputs. This improper limitation of pathnames enables unauthorized file system access through absolute path references.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Shortcodes Ultimate plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Shortcodes Ultimate', or check the /wp-content/plugins/shortcodes-ultimate/ directory existsAffected if The plugin is present in the WordPress installation
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Check installed plugin versionIn WordPress admin, view plugin details for Shortcodes Ultimate and note the version number, or read the main plugin PHP file header for 'Version:' fieldAffected if Version is 5.12.6 or lower (up to and including 5.12.6)
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Identify file-handling shortcodes in useReview plugin shortcodes list (typically available in plugin settings or documentation) for any that accept file path parameters, such as file include, read, or template shortcodesAffected if Any shortcode that accepts file path input is available and could accept absolute path references
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Inspect recent access logs for path traversal attemptsReview web server access logs (Apache/nginx) for requests to the plugin endpoint containing absolute paths outside web root (e.g., /etc/passwd, C:\Windows) or unusual file inclusion attemptsAffected if Logs show requests with absolute paths or attempts to access system files outside the web document root
The environment is affected if Shortcodes Ultimate plugin versions 5.12.6 or lower is installed and any file-handling shortcode feature is enabled, allowing absolute path inputs to access files outside the web root.
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 Shortcodes Ultimate to the latest patched version once available, or implement input validation to restrict file path inputs to allowed directories and block traversal sequences (e.g., '../', absolute paths outside web root).
- Consultation4.0 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 $4,304.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25050 — 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-2023-25050 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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- 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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