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Shortcodes And Extra Features For Phlox ThemeWordPress extension · Averta

CVE-2023-50368

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.15.2 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
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Averta Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme: from n/a through 2.15.2.

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 · moderate confidence

Stored XSS vulnerability in Averta Shortcodes plugin for Phlox theme allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through shortcode parameters that get stored in the database and execute when users view affected pages.

MitigationUpdate to version 2.15.3 or later; if update unavailable, disable the plugin or implement output escaping/sanitization on shortcode attributes as a temporary measure.

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
Shortcodes And Extra Features For Phlox ThemeWordPress extension
Affected:<= 2.15.2

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
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 Averta Shortcodes plugin is installed
    Check your WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'auxin-shortcodes' or 'averta-shortcodes', or view the installed plugins list in the WordPress admin dashboard.
    Affected if The plugin folder or listing is found in your WordPress installation
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin PHP file (usually auxin-shortcodes.php or similar in the plugin folder) and locate the version number in the plugin header comment, or check the version displayed in the WordPress plugins admin page.
    Affected if The version number displayed is 2.15.2 or lower
  3. Identify shortcode usage in content
    Search your WordPress database (wp_posts table) for content containing shortcode tags such as [aux_ or [phlox_ or common shortcode patterns like [icon], [button], [pricing_table], or query your posts/pages for the presence of any aux- or phlox- prefixed shortcode brackets.
    Affected if Database contains posts or pages with shortcodes from this plugin that accept user input parameters
  4. Inspect shortcode parameters for unsanitized input
    Examine the post_content in your database for shortcodes that contain unsanitized attributes, particularly those that may contain HTML, JavaScript, or script-related keywords (such as onerror, onload, javascript:, <script>) within shortcode parameter values.
    Affected if Shortcode parameters in your content contain raw HTML or JavaScript that could execute when the page renders

You are affected if the Averta Shortcodes plugin is installed with version 2.15.2 or lower AND shortcodes from this plugin with potentially malicious parameters exist in your stored content.

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 2.15.2
Interim mitigation

Update to version 2.15.3 or later; if update unavailable, disable the plugin or implement output escaping/sanitization on shortcode attributes as a temporary measure.

Fix this in Shortcodes And Extra Features For Phlox Theme Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,290
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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-2023-50368 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