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FlatsomeWordPress extension · Uxthemes

CVE-2023-28994

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.16.8 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Unauth. Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in UX-themes Flatsome plugin <= 3.16.8 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 · high confidence

Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Flatsome WordPress plugin versions 3.16.8 and below allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code through unsanitized URL parameters, which then executes in victims' browsers when they visit specially crafted links.

MitigationUpgrade Flatsome plugin to the latest version (above 3.16.8) to remediate this vulnerability; the fix involves proper output encoding of user-supplied input in the affected component.

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
FlatsomeWordPress extension
Affected:<= 3.16.8

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Locate the Flatsome plugin installation
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for the 'flatsome' folder, or view the installed plugins list via WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
    Affected if The Flatsome plugin folder exists in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed Flatsome version
    Open the main plugin file (flatsome/flatsome.php) and locate the 'Version' header comment in the file header, or check via WordPress admin plugins list where version is displayed next to the plugin name
    Affected if The version number displayed is 3.16.8 or lower
  3. Verify URL parameter reflection
    Visit any page on the site with a test parameter appended to the URL (for example: ?testparam=<script>alert(1)</script>), then view the page source or inspect the rendered HTML to see if the parameter value appears unchanged in the output
    Affected if The unsanitized parameter value appears verbatim in the HTML output (reflected without encoding)

If Flatsome plugin is installed with version 3.16.8 or lower AND URL parameters are being reflected unencoded in the page output, the environment is affected by this XSS vulnerability.

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 3.16.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Flatsome plugin to the latest version (above 3.16.8) to remediate this vulnerability; the fix involves proper output encoding of user-supplied input in the affected component.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available version of Flatsome (version 3.17.0 or higher, since 3.16.8 and below are affected)

  1. 1. Back up your WordPress site before making any changes
  2. 2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
  3. 3. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  4. 4. Find the Flatsome plugin in the list
  5. 5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  6. 6. Alternatively, download the latest version from a trusted source and upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  7. 7. After updating, clear any caching plugins and server-side caches
  8. 8. Verify the plugin version reflects the update in Plugins > Installed Plugins
Caveat Flatsome is a premium theme add-on; ensure your license is active for updates. Test the update on a staging site first if possible, as theme updates can affect site appearance.

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

Fix this in Flatsome Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

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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-2023-28994 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