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Wpfactory HelperWordPress extension · Wpfactory

CVE-2023-36689

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.5.2 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 WPFactory WPFactory Helper plugin <= 1.5.2 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

Unauthenticated reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the WPFactory Helper WordPress plugin versions 1.5.2 and below allows attackers to inject malicious scripts through unsanitized user input that gets reflected back to victims.

MitigationUpdate the WPFactory Helper plugin to a version newer than 1.5.2, or if no patched version exists, remove the plugin until a fix is available.

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
Wpfactory HelperWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.5.2

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. Verify WPFactory Helper plugin is installed
    Check your WordPress installation's wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'wpfactory-helper' or 'wpfactory-helper-plugin', or view the installed plugins list in the WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins.
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the WordPress plugins directory.
  2. Determine the installed version of WPFactory Helper
    Open the main plugin file (usually wp-content/plugins/[plugin-folder]/wpfactory-helper.php) and locate the 'Version:' header in the plugin comment block, or check the 'changelog.txt' or 'readme.txt' file in the plugin folder.
    Affected if The reported version is 1.5.2 or lower.
  3. Confirm the plugin is active
    In the WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and verify that WPFactory Helper shows as 'Active', or query the wp_options table for the option_name 'active_plugins' to see if the plugin is in the active list.
    Affected if The plugin is currently activated on the site.
  4. Identify exposed frontend endpoints
    Review the plugin's main PHP files for any code that handles GET or POST requests accessible to unauthenticated users (check for 'init' or 'wp_ajax_nopriv' hooks) and look for parameters that are echoed back without sanitization.
    Affected if The plugin processes unauthenticated requests and reflects user input in the response without proper escaping.

Your environment is affected if the WPFactory Helper plugin version is 1.5.2 or lower and the plugin is active, as this version contains the reflected XSS vulnerability accessible to unauthenticated 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.5.2
Interim mitigation

Update the WPFactory Helper plugin to a version newer than 1.5.2, or if no patched version exists, remove the plugin until a fix is available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

WPFactory Helper version 1.5.3 or later

  1. Check the current installed version of WPFactory Helper plugin in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin or check WordPress repository for the latest version
  3. Upgrade WPFactory Helper to the latest available version (version 1.5.3 or higher)

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

Fix this in Wpfactory Helper Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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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-2023-36689 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