CVE-2023-49771
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 Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Peter Raschendorfer Smart External Link Click Monitor [Link Log] allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Smart External Link Click Monitor [Link Log]: from n/a through 5.0.2.
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 confidenceReflected XSS vulnerability in the Smart External Link Click Monitor [Link Log] WordPress plugin allows remote attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code through unsanitized user input that gets reflected back in generated web pages.
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<= 5.0.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Link Log plugin is installedCheck the WordPress plugins directory or log into the WP admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Look for 'Link Log' or 'Smart External Link Click Monitor' in the plugin list.Affected if The plugin named 'Link Log' or 'Petersplugins Link Log' appears in the installed plugins list.
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Check installed plugin versionIn the WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins, find the Link Log plugin and note the version number displayed beneath the plugin name. Alternatively, inspect the plugin's main PHP file (typically /wp-content/plugins/link-log/) for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block.Affected if The displayed version number is 5.0.2 or lower.
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Confirm link logging feature is activeCheck if the plugin's functionality is actively logging external links. Look for Link Log settings in WordPress admin under Settings > Link Log, or inspect the website frontend for any logged external links (often visible in page footers or via admin views).Affected if The Link Log plugin is active and configured to log external link clicks on the site.
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Inspect page source for unsanitized outputView the HTML source of a page that displays link log data (such as a page showing click statistics or logged links). Right-click > View Page Source, then search for link log output. Look for any user-supplied values (like URLs or referrer data) that appear unescaped in the HTML.Affected if Raw URL parameters, referrer strings, or other user input appear directly in the HTML without HTML entity encoding (e.g., you see raw <script> tags or unescaped quotes in attributes).
A user is affected if the Link Log plugin version is 5.0.2 or lower AND the plugin is active on the WordPress site, allowing reflected XSS to occur in pages displaying logged link data.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate the plugin to the latest version which should include proper input sanitization and output encoding. Until patched, avoid clicking untrusted links logged by the plugin.
5.0.3
- 1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
- 2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- 3. Locate 'Smart External Link Click Monitor [Link Log]'
- 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now'
- 5. Verify the updated version is 5.0.3 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-49771 — 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-2023-49771 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data