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FlowpaperWordPress extension

CVE-2023-40197

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.0.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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
Auth. (contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Devaldi Ltd flowpaper plugin <= 1.9.9 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

Authenticated contributor+ users can inject malicious JavaScript through the flowpaper plugin's input fields, which gets stored in the database and executed when other users view the affected content.

MitigationUpdate the flowpaper plugin to version 1.10.0 or later; if patching is not possible, restrict contributor-level access and sanitize all user inputs using WordPress sanitization functions before storage and escaping functions on output.

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
FlowpaperWordPress extension
Affected:< 2.0.0

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 Flowpaper plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Flowpaper' or 'Flowpaper Flipbook' in the list. Note whether it is active or inactive.
    Affected if The Flowpaper plugin appears in the installed plugins list, regardless of active status.
  2. Identify installed Flowpaper version
    In the Plugins list, find the Flowpaper entry and locate the version number displayed beneath the plugin name. Compare this version to the affected range.
    Affected if The installed version is any version prior to 2.0.0.
  3. Confirm contributor-level user access exists
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > Users List and review the role assigned to each user. Identify any users with the 'Contributor' role or higher.
    Affected if At least one user account has the Contributor role or higher, granting them post authoring access.
  4. Inspect flowpaper input fields in post editor
    Create a new post or edit an existing one. Look for Flowpaper-specific fields or meta boxes in the editor interface where flipbook configurations are saved.
    Affected if Flowpaper-specific input fields are visible in the post editor and accept user-supplied values.

You are affected if the Flowpaper plugin version is below 2.0.0, the plugin is installed, and users with Contributor role or higher have access to create or edit content containing Flowpaper configurations.

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 2.0.0 or later
Fixed in 2.0.0
Interim mitigation

Update the flowpaper plugin to version 1.10.0 or later; if patching is not possible, restrict contributor-level access and sanitize all user inputs using WordPress sanitization functions before storage and escaping functions on output.

Recommended fix High confidence

2.0.0

  1. Update the Flowpaper plugin to version 2.0.0 or later through the WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins > Installed Plugins
  2. Alternatively, update via FTP or your hosting control panel file manager by replacing the /wp-content/plugins/flowpaper/ directory with the updated version
  3. Verify the plugin update was successfully applied by checking the Plugins page in WordPress admin
  4. Clear any site caches if you use caching plugins to ensure the patched version is served

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

Fix this in Flowpaper Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-40197 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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