dbcve.org
Blog FilterWordPress extension · Awplife

CVE-2023-5295

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.4 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
The Comments by Startbit plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'vivafbcomment' shortcode in versions up to, and including, 1.4 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor-level and above permissions to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

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

The Comments by Startbit WordPress plugin (versions up to 1.4) contains a stored XSS vulnerability in the 'vivafbcomment' shortcode handler. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level or higher permissions can inject malicious JavaScript through unsanitized shortcode attributes. When users access pages containing the injected shortcode, the attacker's scripts execute in their browsers.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to the latest version if available; otherwise, remove or disable the plugin until a patch is released. The fix requires proper input sanitization (sanitize_text_field, esc_attr) and output escaping (esc_html, esc_attr) on all user-supplied shortcode attributes.

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
Blog FilterWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.4

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. Identify if Comments by Startbit (Awplife Blog Filter) plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Comments by Startbit' or 'Awplife Blog Filter'. Check the version number displayed next to the plugin name.
    Affected if Plugin is installed and version is 1.4 or lower (or version cannot be determined)
  2. Locate pages or posts using the vivafbcomment shortcode
    Search your WordPress database or use a plugin/function to find all instances of the shortcode '[vivafbcomment' in posts, pages, and custom post types. Alternatively, search content files if accessing the database directly.
    Affected if Any page or post contains the vivafbcomment shortcode, making it potentially vulnerable to stored XSS
  3. Inspect shortcode attributes for unescaped content
    Examine the vivafbcomment shortcode usage found in your content. Look at the attributes (such as width, height, theme, or any custom parameters) and verify whether they contain user-supplied values that might not be properly escaped. Check the page source in a browser to see if attribute values are rendered as raw text or properly escaped.
    Affected if Shortcode attributes contain special characters (<, >, ", ') rendered unescaped in HTML output, indicating the vulnerability is present

You are affected if the Comments by Startbit/Awplife Blog Filter plugin version 1.4 or lower is installed AND the vivafbcomment shortcode is used in any content with user-controllable attributes.

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 1.4
Interim mitigation

Update the plugin to the latest version if available; otherwise, remove or disable the plugin until a patch is released. The fix requires proper input sanitization (sanitize_text_field, esc_attr) and output escaping (esc_html, esc_attr) on all user-supplied shortcode attributes.

Fix this in Blog Filter Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,730
Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-5295 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