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Header Footer Code ManagerWordPress extension · Draftpress

CVE-2023-39989

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.1.34 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in 99robots Header Footer Code Manager plugin <= 1.1.34 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

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the 99robots Header Footer Code Manager WordPress plugin versions 1.1.34 and earlier allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended actions (such as injecting malicious code into headers/footers) by leveraging the lack of proper nonce validation on sensitive plugin actions.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to a version newer than 1.1.34 which includes proper anti-CSRF nonce validation; if no update is available, implement nonce verification on all plugin form submissions and admin action handlers.

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
Header Footer Code ManagerWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.1.34

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm plugin installation and version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Header Footer Code Manager' (by 99robots or Draftpress). Note the version number displayed. Alternatively, inspect the plugin's main PHP file header in wp-content/plugins/
    Affected if The version is 1.1.34 or lower
  2. Identify vulnerable plugin file paths
    Locate the plugin directory (typically wp-content/plugins/header-footer-code-manager or similar). Look for PHP files handling admin form submissions, particularly files with names like admin.php, class-hfcm-admin.php, or files containing 'update', 'save', 'add', or 'delete' action handlers
    Affected if The plugin directory exists and contains PHP files handling header/footer code injection actions
  3. Check for missing nonce validation in action handlers
    Open the plugin's PHP files that process admin actions. Search for sensitive functions (like adding/updating/deleting header or footer code snippets). Look for the presence of 'wp_verify_nonce' or 'check_admin_referer' calls BEFORE any database write operations or sensitive functionality. Also check for 'nonce' in form generation (wp_nonce_field)
    Affected if Form handling files lack proper nonce verification calls before processing header/footer code changes, or forms generating the code snippets do not include nonce fields
  4. Verify exposed sensitive actions
    In the plugin files, identify all admin action hooks (like 'admin_init', 'wp_ajax_*', or custom action parameters in GET/POST requests). Check if any of these allow modification of header/footer code without requiring authentication confirmation or nonce validation
    Affected if The plugin processes header/footer code injection requests through admin action hooks without validating a nonce token first

You are affected if the Header Footer Code Manager plugin is installed at version 1.1.34 or earlier AND the plugin's admin action handlers or form submissions lack proper wp_verify_nonce or check_admin_referer validation before processing header/footer code changes.

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 1.1.34
Interim mitigation

Update the plugin to a version newer than 1.1.34 which includes proper anti-CSRF nonce validation; if no update is available, implement nonce verification on all plugin form submissions and admin action handlers.

Fix this in Header Footer Code Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,848.

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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-2023-39989 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